By Daniel Johnson, Sports Editor
The Wildcat volleyball team lost in four games to undefeated West Texas A&M on Thursday, after a back and forth match between the top two teams in the conference.
I feel like we need to use this as a learning experience,” head coach Kellen Mock said.
With the loss, ACU falls to 7-2 in conference play with one remaining regular season game against Eastern New Mexico on Saturday. The loss is ACU’s second to West Texas this season and snapped ACU’s seven match winning streak during the second half of the season. Although the Wildcats were unable to win, Mock is optimistic about the positives she saw in her team throughout the game.
If you compare tonight to when we played them the first time, we have improved ten-fold,” Mock said.
Outside hitter Erin Curry agrees with Mock and is positive about the Wildcats final regular season match.
“We will work out all the kinks,” Curry said. “[West Texas] is a good team and good teams never go down easy.”
Despite jumping to an early 9-5 lead and beating the Lady Buffs to 20 points, the Wildcats dropped the first game 26-30. West Texas came back from a 16-20 deficit and scored four straight points to win the first game. The Wildcats failed to bounce back from the West Texas game-one comeback early in the second game, as West Texas jumped to an initial 1-7 lead. The Lady Buffs kept their momentum going throughout the game and pulled ahead by two games with a 10-point game two victory. The Lady Buffs led consistently throughout the game and finished 30-20. ACU returned the favor and denied West Texas a three game sweep with a 30-23 win in the third game. The Wildcats’ led by 10 points two times in the game and a Nicole Killebrew kill squashed a late Lady Buff comeback.
Despite coming back from a five-point deficit twice, the Wildcats failed to continue their comeback in game four as West Texas finished off the match with a 30-28 win. Outside hitter Abbie Lowry led the Wildcats in kills with 18, while Curry followed close behind with 13. Nicole Killebrew and Krystine Cethoute both led with five blocks and Malia Plumlee recorded a team high 24 digs. Killebrew and Plumlee, both seniors were also honored before the game for their careers and devotion to the program.
The Wildcats final match before the Lone Star Conference Tournament will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in Moody Coliseum against Eastern New Mexico University.
