LUBBOCK, Texas (November 21, 2009) - The No. 20 Lubbock Christian University Lady Chaparrals advanced to Sioux City, Iowa, which serves as the final site of the 30th Annual NAIA Volleyball National Championship (Presented by Siouxland Sports Medicine Foundation), as they defeated University of St. Thomas (Texas) 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-18) Saturday afternoon in opening round play of the National Championship at Rip Griffin Center.

The Lady Chaps never trailed in the opening set, jumping out to a 12-5 advantage. LCU had four of their six aces in the match during the opening set, with three coming during the 12-5 run. The Lady Chaps claimed the opening set 25-16, benefiting off 12 kills on 24 attempts with just one error (.458 attack percentage). LCU used a 6-1 run for a 19-13 lead in the second set, but then the Lady Celts stormed back with a 7-0 run for a 20-19 advantage. A kill by LCU's Caitlin Kender tied the set at 20-20 and LCU went on to tally five of the final seven points for a 25-23 set win. St. Thomas came out strong in the third set, taking an 11-7 lead to force the Lady Chaps to compile a comeback. LCU responded with an 18-7 run, which included an 8-2 run to close the match for a 25-18 set victory.

The Lady Chaps produced a .317 attack percentage in the match, as they balanced their production of 41 kills. Five different individuals had at least five kills in the match for LCU, with Kelsey Odell and Bailey Jones co-leading the squad with ten each. LCU's Jordan Goings had a match-high 38 assists and Courtney Yonke produced a match-high 24 digs. Yonke's 24 digs moved her past Cedarville's (Ohio) Libby Short Aker and into third place among the NAIA's all-time career dig leaders with 2,897. Of the six LCU aces, two were by Kelsey Odell and she moves into fourth all-time in career aces (140) in program history. Odell also moved into eighth all-time in program history in career kills (1,380) with her ten in the match. UST produced six aces in the match as well, with Lauren Poe and Keanne Smith each producing a pair. Casey Mulryan led UST with a match-high 11 kills.

St. Thomas has their season end at 23-11, and the loss marks the second consecutive season the Lady Celts have lost in opening round play. They made their first appearance in program history last season and lost 3-0 at Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.). LCU claims their second consecutive opening round victory and they head to Iowa with a 27-5 record on the season. Playing amidst their seventh national championship appearance, the Lady Chaps are now 12-16 all-time in national championship play and 5-2 under head coach Jennifer Lawrence.

The NAIA has 12 opening round contests being conducted around the country and the 12 winners will head to Iowa to join the 12 programs that received opening round byes. The 24 teams will be split up into six four-team pools with pool play beginning December 1st at Gateway Arena inside Tyson Events Center. The NAIA will announce the pools and pairings on Sunday.