The ACU volleyball season ended last week as the Wildcats failed to win either game against Grand Canyon or Incarnate Word.
The Wildcats had a great start against GCU winning the first set 25-18. GCU would dominate the next three sets to beat the Wildcats 3-1. The Achilles heel for the Wildcats has been bad finishes all seasons. That continued to plague the Wildcats as they couldn’t seem to close out a game after a great start.
Coach Kellen Mock said, “We played really well in certain aspects this weekend, but we struggled on the defensive end Grand Canyon was very smart in the choices they made.”
Jennifer Loerch continued the great season, recording 13 more kills. Southland honorable mention Lexi Mercier also added to her great season with two more blocks against Grand Canyon.
Senior Madelyn Robinett said, “I think staying more mentally focused and picking up on the other team’s game plan would help us adjust better during the match.”
ACU played Incarnate Word for the third time this season in a non-Southland game. They were defeated in both of their earlier matches this year losing in straight sets. The third match was unfortunately no different as the Wildcats lost again in straight sets.
The Wildcats kept the match close tying Incarnate Word 25 times and holding them to a .175 hitting percentage. The Wildcats played a tough match as they forced Incarnate Word to win each set by scores of 27-25, 30-28, 25-23. They even held Southland honorable mention Angelique Vidaurri to -.100 hitting percentage.
“As much as we needed to win that match, it was a tremendous battle. It says a lot about Incarnate Word on how hard they have fought to win matches, they have done it all season long,” Mock said.
Lexi Mercier finished her off her freshman season with 128 total blocks and 1.44 blocks per set. Seniors Caley Johnson and Madelyn Robinett played their final game of their careers against Incarnate Word. Johnson had 24 digs for the game, while Robinett dug out 16 attacks.
The Wildcats look like a team on the rise in the Southland as they will enter the 2014 season with youth and experience.
