By Daniel Johnson-Kim, Student Reporter

The one thing that would prevent the ACU volleyball team from winning its eight straight match Thursday isn’t the undefeated West Texas A&M Lady Buffs; it is whether or not the Wildcats play consistently, said head coach Kellen Mock.

“It will be a dog fight regardless of who wins,” Mock said.

ACU will take on Lone Star Conference leaders West Texas A&M in Moody Coliseum in its second to last game before the LSC Tournament.

The first time the Wildcats and Lady Buffs met resulted in ACU’s first conference loss of the season. The Wildcats suffered a three game loss on the road and bounced back to win seven straight matches in the second half of the season.

The biggest reason ACU was able to recover from the loss was the consistent play of outside hitter Abbie Lowry.

Lowry leads the team in kills, with 427, averages 4.49 kills per game and was posted 21 kills in the Wildcats latest 3-0 win over St. Edwards Saturday.

“Abbie had a phenomal night against St. Edwards,” Mock said “But when she isn’t on, we can rely on others to pick up the slack.”

Those “others” are middle blocker Lauren Leone and setter Erica Dickenson. Despite being two of the youngest players on the team, Leone, a sophomore and Dickenson, a freshman, have been key players in the Wildcats’ recent success.

Leone is second behind Lowry with 244 kills and averages 2.57 kills per game. In addition to helping out on offense, Leone’s defensive presence aids the Wildcats.

Dickenson, since moving into the starting setter position, leads the team with 876 assists. Mock said Dickenson has also become an offensive threat as she continues to grow accustomed to the college level of play.

West Texas is currently 8-0 in the conference and has one of the more experienced teams in the LSC. Outside hitter Rachel Altman and setter Libby Garza, both seniors, were named LSC Players of the Week in their positions and are coming off three-straight wins last week.

But Mock is not intimated by the experience and record of the Lady Buffs.

“They are a strong team but are not unbeatable,” Mock said. “They’re not any better than any other teams we have beat this season.”

One more thing that keeps Mock optimistic about playing the Buffs is the advantage playing at home brings.

“We’re hoping for a big crowd,” Mock said. “We definitely have a home court advantage.”