By Daniel Johnson, Sports Editor
Beating the Wildcat volleyball team at home is not an easy feat; no one has done it in 34 games.
That winning streak will be on the line this weekend when ACU hosts the 2006 Wildcat Volleyball Classic, after two tough weekends on the road against nationally ranked teams. ACU will host its last tournament of the preseason before beginning conference play on Sept. 14 against Texas A&M Kingsville.
“This weekend is an opportunity to play at home, and getting the home crowd involved gives you more confidence going into a match,” said head coach Kellen Mock
The Wildcats are 3-5 this preseason after competing against nationally ranked teams for two consecutive weekends. ACU, who was ranked 20th at the start of the season, fell out of the top 25 poll this week after going 1-3 at the Premier Challenge in Denver.
“We need a few confidence builder matches, and I think it would be good for us to go and play some teams that maybe aren’t in the top ten and see how we compare.” Mock said.
Although the Wildcats are not facing nationally recognized teams like in previous tournaments, Mock said the teams competing in the tournament are still going to be tough matches.
ACU will begin the tournament against Ouachita Baptist at 5 p.m. Friday before taking on Missouri Southern at 11 a.m. and Lubbock Christian at 5 p.m. Saturday. Conference rivals Angelo State will also participate in the tournament but will not play ACU.
In eight preseason games, junior outside hitter Abbie Lowry currently leads the team in kills with 126, while junior libero Liz Snoddy has the most digs with 100 and 3.03 per game.
Mock will look to Lowry, Snoddy and the rest of her team to finish their preseason at 6-5 before moving on to the conference schedule.
“I would like to win all three games this weekend,” said Mock. “We have a target on our back and we have to prove that we’re worth having that target.”
The tournament’s first day of action will be Lubbock Christian against Ouachita Baptist at 1 p.m., followed by Anglo State against Missouri Southern at 3 p.m.
ACU completes the days action against Ouachita Baptist at 5 p.m.
All games will be played in Moody Coliseum
