The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball team traveled down to Wilmore, Kentucky on Thursday in preparation for their NCCAA Division I Mideast Regional Playoff game tomorrow afternoon. The Chargers earned the number-one seed in the region and a bye to the championship game, preparing to face number-three seed Ohio Christian University on Friday, November 22 at 2:00 p.m for the Mideast regional title. The game will be hosted by Asbury University, who lost in five sets to the Trailblazers on Thursday night. With a win, Lancaster Bible clinches a spot in the NCCAA Division I National Tournament in two weeks and would travel out to Point Lookout, Missouri for a chance to win a national title.

The Chargers look to add to their already historic season heading into the NCCAA postseason after compiling a program-record 25 wins so far in 2024, finishing 9-1 in the United East Conference and earning the number-two seed in the United East Playoffs. Lancaster Bible advanced all the way to the conference championship game after defeating Penn St. Abington 3-0 in the quarterfinal round and St. Mary's (Md.) 3-0 in the semifinal round before falling to top-seeded Gallaudet 3-0 in the title match on Saturday evening. Five Chargers earned All-Conference recognition with three First Team selections in Eden Belford (So.), Lea Sareyka (So.), and Leah Helman (Sr.), one Second Team selection in Madison Reap (Fr.), and one Third Team selection in Madeline Reed (So.). In addition, Helman was named United East Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in her career and Reap was named United East Rookie of the Year after a stellar freshman campaign.

As of today, the Chargers lead all of NCCAA Division I in total service aces with 326 and rank second in the nation in aces per set at 2.86. Lancaster Bible also ranks second in opponent hitting percentage at just .111, showing their dominance on defense as a team. Individually, Madison Reap is the NCCAA Division I leader in both service aces (88) and aces per set (0.77), while Leah Helman ranks third in the country in total digs with 620 and sixth in the country in digs per set at 5.34.

For the Trailblazers, they currently hold a 16-17 record and earned the three-seed in the region, taking down two-seed and host Asbury in five sets to advance to the regional championship game. Madison Blickenstaff (Sr.) led the way with 13 kills and three different players recorded 10+ digs in the win. Ohio Christian entered the day ranked seventh in NCCAA Division I in blocks per set at 1.98 and ninth in digs per set at 16.78. The Trailblazers are also third in the country in opponent hitting percentage at .119, one spot below the Chargers. Individually, Sophie Coleman (So.) ranks seventh in the nation with 543 total digs and tenth in the nation with 4.56 digs per set.

Head Coach Julie Brubaker had this to say in advance of their matchup tomorrow: "This team loves to compete and they have showed that from the beginning. Our losses have been good losses that have been competitive. The girls work hard in practice and love to push each other to improve, and that has translated well to all their success this season and the wins they have earned. I think that's a big part of why we are here and done well. I am proud of this team for all they have accomplished this season; it is a testament to how hard they work and what they are capable of. We are thankful to LBC for the opportunity to play in the NCCAA regional. We are looking forward to competing with teams we haven't seen yet this year and are out of state."

Catch the Chargers tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. as they take on Ohio Christian for the Mideast Regional title by tuning in to the live stream or viewing the live stats provided for the match.

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