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SWOSU (1-4) at Lubbock Christian (2-2) Tuesday, September 6, 6:00 pm Lubbock, Texas (Rip Griffin Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live

Setting the Scene
- With five matches under their belt, the SWOSU Volleyball team heads back to Texas on Tuesday evening to face Lubbock Christian
- Tuesday's contest will be the first match between the Bulldogs and the Lady Chaps since 2009 and it is the opening match of a home-and-home series to be played by the teams this season
- SWOSU enters the match with a 1-4 record, while Lubbock Christian is 2-2 after starting the season at the Hilton Garden Inn Classic hosted by Texas Woman's
 
The Opponent
Lubbock Christian (2-2)
- The Chaps defeated Harding and Texas Woman's while being defeated by Texas A&M-Commerce and Colorado State-Pueblo during opening weekend
- LCU was picked to finish second in the Heartland Conference this season, their second as a full member of NCAA Division II
- Last season, Lubbock Christian finished with an 18-11 record, including a 10-6 conference record to finish third in the Heartland
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Josh Collins (57-76, 5th season)
- Led the Bulldogs to the best season in program history in 2015, winning 22 games and the GAC Tournament Championship
- Has coached nine All-GAC selections, one GAC Freshman of the Year and one AVCA All-Central Region selection in four seasons
- His teams have earned two AVCA Team Academic Awards and one GAC Sportsmanship Award
- Added the duties of Director of Gameday Operations at SWOSU in the fall of 2014.
 
Lubbock Christian: Jennifer Lawrence (288-120, 13th season)
- Winningest coach in LCU school history, having led the Lady Chaps through the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II
- Guided the Lady Chaps to two NAIA National Tournament appearances and last season qualified for the Heartland Conference Tournament in their first season eligible
 
Checking the Standings
- After opening weekend, three GAC teams have a record above .500 while five teams went 2-2 at their first tournament
- Oklahoma Baptist and Southeastern both went 3-1 to open the season while Ouachita currently has a 2-1 mark
- SWOSU battled tough competition to a 1-4 record after being picked to finish third in the conference this season
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU went 1-4 to open the season, earning the programs first-ever win against West Texas A&M while suffering setbacks against Northern Michigan, McKendree, Adams State and Eastern New Mexico
- The Bulldogs opened the season with a three-set setback against NMU, before going 1-3 at the West Texas A&M Buff Classic in Canyon, Texas
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU senior Carly Zak was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2016 BritCare Lady Buff Classic after leading the tournament in points per set (4.79) and ranking second in kills per set (4.21)
- Zak reached the 1,200-career kill plateau in the Bulldogs win over WT and her school-record total currently sits at 1,231
- Kayla Hebert dished out 149 assists on opening weekend, giving her 1,298 for her career and surpassing Breann Whitaker (1,272 from 2012-13) for third place on the SWOSU career list
- Six players averaged better than one kill or more during opening weekend, with Zak and Kelsi Schmidtberger leading the way
- Schmidtberger put down 34 kills (2.0 per set) with a .240 hitting percentage and she had a team-best 18 blocks (one solo, 17 assist) to open the season
- Four SWOSU players had 24 or more digs over the weekend, led by freshman Kaitlyn Dillon with 52 (3.06 per set) and Zak with 40 (2.35 per set)
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU has ten days off before returning to action at the GAC / MIAA Crossover on September 16-17 in Edmond and Shawnee
- The Bulldogs will face Southwest Baptist and Central Oklahoma on Friday, September 16th in Edmond before taking on Emporia State and Missouri Western on Saturday, September 17th in Shawnee