LUBBOCK — Lubbock Christian fought off Eastern New Mexico University in the second game, then dominated the rest of the way to hand the Zias a 22-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-12 setback Tuesday night in non-conference volleyball.

The Lady Chaps (25-1), ranked 24th in the NAIA, were coming off a five-game win over West Texas A&M on Monday night and extended their winning streak to 19 matches.

Senior outside hitter Suzanne Childress had 15 kills and sophomore middle blocker Elissa Loynes added 14 and two block solos for LCU, whose only loss was a 3-0 verdict to Indiana Wesleyan in early September. Junior libero Courtney Yonke collected 32 digs.

Senior outside hitter Megan Weitz had 13 kills and four total blocks (two solos) for the Zias, while senior outside hitter Nicole Vanderploeg had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Junior libero Caitlin Murphy had 38 digs and two aces.

The Zias (6-21) closed out the first game on a 9-1 run to erase a five-point deficit, getting three kills in the run from senior outside hitter Megan Weitz and a combination blocke from senior Nicole Vanderploeg on game point.

ENMU put together a 6-0 run for a 22-20 lead in the second game. An LCU service error tied the score 24-24, but the Zias committed a ballhandling error on the next point before Loynes squared the match with a kill.

ENMU never led in either of the final two games, although the Zias pulled to 15-14 in the third game before the Lady Chaps went on a 10-2 run. LCU raced to a 16-4 lead in the fourth game and was not challenged after that.

The Zias play five of their final seven matches at home, all in the Lone Star Conference, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest on Thursday against Cameron at Greyhound Arena.


Non-conference

Lubbock Christian 3, ENMU 1

ENMU    25    24    16    12
Lubbock Christian    22    26    25    25

Individual statistics
Kills — Eastern New Mexico, Megan Weitz 13, Nicole Vanderploeg 10, Veronica Valdez 8. Lubbock Christian, Suzanne Childress 15, Elissa Loynes 14, Katie McGuire 9. Block solos — Eastern New Mexico, Valdez 2, Weitz 2, Grace Brandt 1. Lubbock Christian, Loynes 2. Block assists — Eastern New Mexico, Weitz 2, Karen McIntyre 1, Vanderploeg 1 Lubbock Christian, McGuire 2, Childress 1, Rachel Stuyvesant 1. Digs — Eastern New Mexico, Caitlin Murphy 38, Valdez 12, Brandt 10, McIntye 10, Vanderploeg 10. Lubbock Christian, Courtney Yonke 32, Kelsey Odell 17. Aces — Eastern New Mexico, Murphy 2. Lubbock Christian, McGuire 3, Lauren Hackney 2, Yonke 1. Assists — Eastern New Mexico, Brandt 24, McIntyre 16. Lubbock Christian, Rachel Stuyvesant 49. Records — Eastern New Mexico 6-21, Lubbock Christian 25-1. T — 1:35. A — 150.