A rowdy crowd and the pressure of the big game weren’t enough to propel the Wildcats to victory against the West Texas A&M Buffaloes.
“We talk a lot about how our wins don’t define us, and the same thing applies for our losses,” said head coach Kellen Mock. “We’re a little frustrated, we’ll come back and be just fine.”
It was one of the largest crowds Moody Coliseum has seen for a volleyball game, but the Buffs proved to be the better team Thursday night.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many fans at Moody as there were tonight,” Mock said. “I can’t say enough about the crowd support.”
The Wildcats lost the first set, 24-26. The Wildcats were up 23-18, but a run by the Buffs tied the game at 24. A few errors down the stretch, including a miss by Neely Borger on a kill at game-point, gave the Buffs the game.
The Buffs also took game two, 25-21. WT took an early lead and never looked back as the two teams traded points. The Buffs were better at the net in the first two sets, leading ACU in blocks 10 to three.
Game three also went to the Buffs to complete the sweep, 25-20. The Buffs took advantage of poor hitting from the Wildcats, who only hit .058 in the third set.
For the game overall, ACU hit .185 and the Buffs hit .283. The win pushes the Buffs’ conference record to 13-0. This win, which is the Buffs’ 79th straight conference win, also means the LSC tournament will be held in Canyon next week.
ACU does have one more regular season game against Eastern New Mexico at 2 p.m. Saturday in Moody Coliseum.