The Wildcat volleyball team this weekend begins a long stretch of Lone Star Conference games that will finish the regular season.
ACU plays Cameron University at 2 p.m. Saturday in Lawton, Okla. Cameron is 10-6 on the season and 4-4 versus the LSC. The team is right behind the Wildcats in the 11-team conference – the ‘Cats sit fourth and Cameron is fifth.
Head coach Kellen Mock said Cameron has shown improvement this year.
“Cameron has really turned themselves around. They’ve been at the bottom of the Lone Star Conference for the last couple of years.”
“The Lady Aggies have gotten to a point where their pushing to be apart of the upper tier of the conference. It’s hard to know what to expect from them. Whatever we see we’ll do our best to beat.”
Mock has been successful coaching against the Aggies; Cameron hasn’t came out on top versus the ‘Cats since the 2003 conference tournament.
The Lady Aggies recently went 5-1 through a six game road trip. In that span, Cameron split two matches at Oklahoma Baptist and went unbeaten at the Texas-Permian Basin Tournament (4-0).
Lady Aggie Freshman Kelle Carver tied a school record for the most kills in a match against Texas-Permian Basin with 30. She received this week’s LSC Offensive Player of the Week Award. Carver ranks first in the conference in kills per set (3.93). Wildcat senior Jennie Hutt is second.
Hutt was named to the all-tournament team this past weekend in the Ramada Inn Lady Blues Fall Classic, as ACU went 2-2. She scored 71 of the team’s 248 total points. Hut also posted a .278 hitting percentage, 63 kills, four aces, and eight block assists. Kelsie Edwards is fourth on the team, 58th nationally, with 4.75 digs per set.
Freshman Haley Rhoads has put up big numbers when the team has needed her. She had 171 assists in the classic last week. 60 of those came against Emporia State University, setting a team and career season high.
ACU is 10-9 so far, (4-3 LSC) and 8-8 when playing away from Moody Coliseum. Nationally, the ‘Cats rank 52nd in kills and 48th in digs per set with 12.91 and 16.65 respectively.
The Wildcats are at the bottom end of the barrel in the area of blocks, even after having a season-best 10 in a loss to Truman State University.
Edwards feels the next stretch of games, all versus conference opponents, is a key part of the schedule.
“Conference games are always important, but looking at where we’re sitting right now, we could really move up the ladder if the team plays to its potential the next few weeks.”
