The Wildcat volleyball team continued its dominance at home with a 3-0 sweep of Texas A&M-Commerce.
“It was awesome, seeing us play so well,” said Carson Henley, sophomore biochemistry major from Colleyville. “The girls were so in sync. We looked real good out there.”
Saturday’s win leaves ACU with a 7-0 record at home this season.
“It’s nice to play at home,” said Head Coach Kellen Mock. “Last year, we only had nine home matches, while we have 13 this year. Although we didn’t have that big of a crowd on Saturday, we usually do, and it propels the girls. They love the chance to show a supportive crowd how good volleyball is played.”
The small crowd did not seem to affect the Wildcats’ game, however. They quickly took the first two sets with identical scores of 25-17. The ladies faced some competition in the third set, though. With the score tied at 22, the Wildcats forced three errors from Commerce to win the final set 25-22.
Defending Lone Star Conference Players of the Week, Jennie Hutt and Ijeoma Moronu, both played well against Commerce. The two players earned four kills each, while Moronu recorded a double-double with 34 assists and 11 digs.
“Both have done extremely well,” Mock said. “Jennie is getting to a point where she is very comfortable on the court, and she is very smart. She can execute the game plan and help everyone else execute it, also.”
Mock also said Moronu has played consistently well and shown she is versatile on the court.
Shawna Hines added seven blocks for the Wildcats. She leads the nation in blocks with 118 for the season.
ACU’s record stands at 17-5, including 4-1 in conference play. Its conference record advanced the team to second place in the Lone Star Conference standings, behind West Texas A&M, the only team to beat the Wildcats in conference so far. The American Volleyball Coaches’ Association will release the first regional rankings next week; in the South Central Region, the top eight teams make the postseason tournament. ACU should be ranked somewhere between sixth and 10th, Mock said.
“It is so critical to have a good seed in the LSC tournament,” she said. “We have about five to six really good teams in our region that are ranked, so we need to play well.”
Mock said the team is hoping to extend its winning streak at home against non-conference opponent Dallas Baptist at 7p.m. Tuesday in Moody Coliseum.
