By Brian Roe, Sports Writer
Sophomore setter Lindsey Martin returned from injury as ACU extended its winning streak to four games with a Lone Star Conference crossover win over Incarnate Word on Tuesday night in Moody Coliseum.
The Wildcats, now 21-7 overall and 4-1 in conference play, won the match in four games. Martin, who had been out with an ankle injury since Oct. 10, played in three games and led the Wildcats with 53 assists and added one kill.
Despite missing four matches to injury, Martin still leads the Lone Star Conference in assists per game, averaging 11.91 per game. The sophomore eclipsed the 1,000 mark in assists with her 53 against Incarnate Word. She now has 1,048 for the season. Martin is on pace break her personal record this season, after recording 1,243 assists last in 2002.
ACU featured four players with double digit kills on Tuesday: sophomore outside hitter Michelle Bernhardt with 22 kills, senior outside hitter Haylee Hartline with 18 kills, sophomore middle blocker Amanda Slate with 14 kills and sophomore middle blocker Ashlee Motola with 14 kills
Freshman setter Malia Plumlee also played well in the win posting 16 assists and 17 digs while playing both right side defense and the final game as the setter. Plumlee was named the LSC South Division setter of the week after leading the team
Plumlee, who has been filling in for the injured Martin, said she was comfortable playing a different position.
“Lindsey started as setter and I played on the right side,” Plumlee said. “Everyone kind of switches it up and we’ve all worked on different positions in practice.”
One player who hasn’t changed positions is Bernhardt. The sophomore continues to lead the Wildcats with 487 kills this season. In the LSC, she is ranked second in kills, second in kills per game and fourth in hitting percentage. Bernhardt is also the only player in the conference to have more than 30 kills in a game.
Slate is also having a solid statistically season. She is ranked second in the conference in blocks per game averaging 1.07 a game. And junior libero Kellen Morrow is seventh in the conference averaging 3.69 digs per game.
The Wildcats played in Angelo on Thursday in an LSC South Division match against Angelo State. ACU will be in action next Tuesday in Austin to face off in a non-conference match against St. Edward’s.
