By Brian Roe, Sports Writer
ACU extended its winning streak to seven straight matches after going 3-0 over the weekend at the Lone Star Conference Crossover Tour-nament.
The Wildcats got behind in the first match on Friday against Texas Woman’s, losing the first two games. The Wildcats rallied back in the third game and won in the fifth game, battling off three match points before finishing the game off 16-14.
Coach Brek Horn said the team came out flat but rebounded well in the initial match.
“I was disappointed with the mental preparation in the first match, but I’m glad we came back and won,” Horn said. “It helped us set some momentum for the final two matches.”
In the second match, ACU played Midwestern, a team the Wildcats had beaten earlier in the season.
“I was a little worried about playing Midwestern at home because we had dominated them on our court,” Horn said.
Led by sophomores Michelle Bernhardt (.500 hitting percentage in the match) and Lindsey Martin (43 assists in the match), ACU beat Midwestern in its own arena.
“We played much better in the second match,” Horn said. “We still didn’t play our best volleyball, but we controlled the match with dominance. So, I was pleased.”
The Wildcats then finished off the tournament with an easy three-game win against Texas A&M Commerce. The Lady Lions offense was expected to challenge the Wildcats, but ACU handled the final game to go undefeated on the weekend.
“Commerce is a tough offensive team and very athletic, so our goal was to control our serve, and we did that efficiently,” Horn said. “I was happy with our effort over the weekend and how we progressed with each match.”
Bernhardt led the team in the tournament this weekend with 52 kills and a hitting percentage of .317. ACU will play in San Antonio on Friday at 7 p.m. against Incarnate Word.
The Wildcats practiced on Monday working on aggressiveness in preparation for this week’s match play.
“It should be a close match with Incarnate Word but I expect to win because of our strength in the middle,” Horn said.
