Some say home is where the heart is. For the ACU volleyball team home is where wins are. The Wildcats won in dominating fashion Saturday, blanking the Tarleton State TexAnns 3-0. The victory increased their win streak to seven.
Head Coach Kellen Mock had only two words to say about the way her team is playing: “We’re good.”
It was the ‘Cats home opener, and they fed off a noisy crowd at Moody Coliseum, winning the three games by scores of 25-18, 25-21, and 25-8. ACU was efficient at the net with an average hitting percentage of .283 while holding Tarleton to just .034.
“It was so nice having so many supporters there,” said Mock. “It was probably the biggest crowd I have seen since the 2004-2005 seasons.”
The coaches weren’t the only ones who appreciated all the ACU support.
“It was great having so many fans there,” said senior Jennie Hutt. “The whole team wants to thank everyone for the support they showed.”
The Wildcats’ ability to get to the ball that was the difference in the game. Throughout the game, it seemed as if ACU had two more girls on the court, as the ‘Cats rarely let a ball fall to the ground untouched.
The momentum built up through the first two games and came to a head in the third and final game when the Wildcats held Tarleton to a season low of 8 points. It is the first time all year the Wildcats have held an opponent to a single-digit point total.
It was a true team effort from the ladies in purple with only junior Jennie Hutt getting into double digits for kills with 10. Shawna Hines and Jordan Schilling added eight apiece while Neely Borger, Ijeoma Moronu and Kalynne Allen each had four.
“Ij’s doing an amazing job of moving the ball around,” said Mock. “That’s part of the reason we are getting so many kills as a team – cause so many people are contributing.”
Moronu also put up 30 assists to pace the Wildcats. So far this year Moronu has an astounding 354 assists, which is almost 10 a set. Throughout the match the Wildcats won five service aces, but none resonated louder than Jordan Schilling’s ace to win the final point of the match and put the Wildcats in first place of the Lone Star Conference.
The word Coach Mock used to describe her girls was “assassins.”
“It’s not just win,” said Mock. “It’s win in the very best fashion you possibly can.”
The Wildcats will go for win number nine in their young season against Texas Women’s on Thursday in Denton. The Wildcats will come back to the comfortable confines of Moody Coliseum for a four-game home stand beginning Oct. 5th.
