By Michael Freeman, Assistant Sports Editor
Losing to Central Oklahoma last Saturday was just a hiccup to the ACU volleyball team as the Wildcats got back on the winning track Tuesday by beating St. Edward’s in Moody Coliseum.
ACU won five of its last six matches, and is now 13- 12 on the season with a 7-3 record in the Lone Star Conference. The Wildcats played Cameron on Thursday night, but the results were not available by press time.
With only one game remaining in the regular season, head coach Kellen Mock is looking forward to the playoffs.
“We’ve really been on a streak,” Mock said. “I expect the girls to come out ready to win and ready to end the regular season on a great note.”
ACU ended Tuesday’s match on a positive note as the Wildcats downed the St. Edward’s Hilltoppers 30- 17, 30-20, 30-21. The win marked ACU’s quickest victory of the year with the match lasting only an hour and 15 minutes. The loss handed St. Edward’s its third defeat in four matches, and dropped the Hilltoppers to 13-13 overall.
Senior outside hitter Abbie Lowry posted her fourth straight double-double by ending the match with 18 kills and 16 digs. Lowry finished with a .485 hitting percentage. Freshman middle blocker Shawna Hines also put up a hitting percentage over .400 as she finished with eight kills and one block assist.
Other top ACU performers included freshman middle blocker Jordan Schilling, who finished with 10 kills; sophomore outside hitter Erin Curry, who ended with 13 digs and seven kills; and sophomore middle blocker Michelle Bacon, who had seven kills.
Freshman setter Ijoema Moronu, who was named the LSC co-Setter of the Week after posting 100 assists in two games, did not slow down against the Hilltoppers as she finished the match with 45 assists, seven digs and four kills.
ACU’s final match of the regular season will be on Saturday against conference foe Midwestern State in Moody Coliseum.
“They’re extremely excited to play at home at the very end of the season,” Mock said. “It’s the time of the year when it gets hard to get excited about every match and every practice like they were towards the beginning of the year. They’re just tired. And I think that it’s great to come back and play at home.”
Last season, the Wildcats handily downed the Midwestern State Mustangs 3-0 in Kingsville. However, this year’s team looks to be more of a challenge for ACU. Midwestern State is 25-4 overall and 8-2 in conference play. The Mustangs have also won 11 of their last 12 matches. Despite going up against such a formidable opponent, coach Mock believes ACU has a good chance to win.
“We’ve been talking for the last few of weeks about coming to a point where you can play your very best volleyball at the very end of the season,” Mock said. “And I think we’ve yet to see their very best. This is the perfect time to peak.”
