By Brian Roe, Sports Editor
The Wildcats are in the midst of their toughest road trip of the season, traveling to Stephenville Thursday night to face Tarleton and going to Kingsville for Saturday’s match against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
ACU looks to rebound off a surprising loss to Lubbock Christian on Tuesday night in Lubbock. The Wildcats, who soundly defeated LCU in three straight games at home on Sept. 7, lost in four games. ACU has not beaten LCU in Lubbock since head coach Brek Horn arrived at ACU.
“We don’t want to take anything away from LCU, but we played poorly,” said assistant coach Sarah Carthel. “We were not prepared mentally, and we didn’t play to our potential.”
The Wildcats were also without the services of two players: junior setter Lindsey Martin was removed from game one because she rolled her ankle, and junior middle blocker Ashlee Motola was held out of the game to rest an abdominal injury.
Martin, who injured her ankle last season during conference play, is expected to return this weekend. For her performance last week, the junior earned Lone Star Conference South Division setter of the week.
Martin distributed 122 assists (15.25 per game) and helped ACU go 2-0 to open conference play. Along with her 122 assists, Martin added 12 digs, two service aces, two kills and one block last week.
ACU faces Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday at 2 p.m. Kingsville, generally at the bottom of the LSC South Division, is currently 1-0 in conference and playing well with an upset over Tarleton State.
“They have a lot of power hitters who are playing well,” Motola said. “They always have a harsh crowd; Home court is always an advantage.”
Carthel said the team must play better on the road and that even though the Wildcats defeated their rival West Texas A&M, the team still has plenty to prove.
“We haven’t earned anything yet,” Carthel said. “We still have a lot we want to accomplish. We’ll start this weekend by really focusing and putting away road games.”
The Wildcats return home to host St. Edwards on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.
