By Michael Freeman, Assistant Sports Editor
The Wildcats picked up their first two wins of the season this past weekend at the Alamo City Invitational in San Antonio. The ACU volleyball team improved its record to 2-5 as the Wildcats went 2-1 during their road trip.
“On the road, it’s always harder,” assistant head coach Lindsey Campbell said. “You have to mentally be more prepared.”
The Wildcats came out prepared in their first match Friday against Incarnate Word. ACU overcame losing the first game to the Incarnate Word Cardinals and took the match by the score of 27-30, 30-25, 30-15, 30-27. Outside hitters Abbie Lowry and Erin Curry led the Wildcats with 13 and 12 kills respectively. Sophomore setter Ericka Dickinson contributed with 34 assists. The victory ended a four-game losing streak and gave the Wildcats their first win of the season.
On Saturday, ACU took on Trinity University, who is ranked No. 7 in the Division III national polls. Trinity powered through the match with a 30-15, 21-30, 30-18, 30-21 victory. Sophomore middle blocker Michelle Bacon racked up 14 kills in the loss. After the match, head coach Kellen Mock likened the Trinity Tigers to the Division II No. 15 team, West Texas A&M.
“Trinity is very similar to West Texas A&M on a slightly lower scale,” Mock said. “They’re not quite as good but have a very similar style of volleyball. They just kept picking balls up and putting them back on our side of the net.”
Later in the day, ACU rebounded to sweep regional opponent Texas A&M International. Bacon and Curry led ACU with 13 kills each as the Wildcats won 30-19, 30- 28, 30-16. Freshman setter Ijeoma Moronu dished out a game-high 41 assists.
“We played some of the best volleyball we’ve played all year against Texas A&M International,” Mock said. “It was the first time I’ve seen my team really come together as a unit.”
The victory was the second straight win over a regional opponent, the first being against Incarnate Word. ACU is now 2-1 this season in regional play. The Wildcat coaching staff
is fairly pleased with the weekend’s results but admits ACU is still learning.
“I think that we figured out some parts of our game that are going to have to be there for us to really perform well,” Campbell said.
This Friday, the Wildcats will host the ACU Volleyball Classic in Moody Coliseum. Their first match is slated for 7 p.m. against Pittsburg State.
