On the heels of a coaching change earlier in the week, a spirited Homecoming celebration on campus and the second leg of a back-to-back, St. Edward’s University volleyball fell in five sets to the Lubbock Christian University (LCU) Lady Chaps.
“These past five days have been learning how to show up regardless of what we’ve been handed,” Capri Davis, St. Edward’s interim head coach, said. “We’ve been dealt a lot of adversity: players getting injured, being sick, whatever the case may be. We are just learning how to respond right now.
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair that included four lead changes and 15 ties, as late as 17-17. A service error from SEU’s Carrington Jaimes sparked a 6-1 run for LCU en route to a 25-22 victory in the opening set. The Hilltoppers committed 13 service errors in the match.
SEU quickly turned the page and posted a dominant second set, jumping out to an 11-3 lead. Kelly Fording and Mia Clay were a dynamic duo, combining for 37 total kills and a hitting percentage north of .300. The Hilltoppers took the second set.
“A lot of us are playing different positions than we’re used to,” Clay, St. Edward’s right side, said. “Just getting used to that and knowing that we can do anything because we’ve been through it all.”
The Hilltoppers took the first point of the third set and never relinquished the lead. It was much closer than the second set. The Lady Chaps made a late push to cut it to 24-23, but the Hilltoppers held on for a 25-23 win to go up 2-1.
The fourth set was also very competitive, with six ties and four lead changes, but LCU’s Lily Bickley took over with seven kills, two aces, and three block assists in a 25-22 win to force a decisive fifth set.
The Hilltoppers ran out of gas in the fifth set, while the Lady Chaps clinched the match with a 15-9 final score, hitting .500 and with eight kills on 14 attempts in the final set.
The Hilltoppers fell to 9-14 in Lone Star Conference standings and the Lady Chaps improved to 12-10. SEU snapped their nine match losing streak on Thursday against Western New Mexico University on the road, winning the match 3-0, but fell 3-1 to University of Texas Permian Basin on Nov. 9.
