The volleyball team heads to Lubbock this weekend for the Lone Star Showdown hosted by Texas Tech where they look to bounce back from their loss against Texas Christian University Tuesday night.
ACU will face the host Red Raiders at 12 p.m. and Air Force Academy at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon followed by one game against Weber State at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Despite the tough loss in Fort Worth, the Wildcats fought hard and managed to win one set in the match (25-10, 25-17, 19-25, 25-16). The Horned Frogs outhit the Wildcats .339 to .099.
“We started out slow the first set,” said Stephanie Schoelman, freshman outside hitter. “It seemed like we weren’t completely focused. During the second set, we began to realize that, in order to win, we had to score our own points instead of just sitting back and expecting them to give it to us.”
The Wildcat offense was lead by outside hitter combination junior Jennie Loerch and Schoelman with a total of 29 kills. Loerch had 18 kills on 56 attempts with 12 digs and a solo block. Schoelman had 11 kills on 32 attempts.
“During the third set, we got mentally tough and realized what we needed to do in order to score points, and capitalized on that,” Schoelman said. “We stayed focused throughout the entire game. It was great to finish the sets with six points scored in a row.”
The Wildcats will face Texas Tech in the opening game, who will enter the tournament at 9-0. The Red Raiders defeated Texas State in their last game after coming back from losing the first two sets of the match.
Tech was led offensively by Breeann David, senior outside hitter, Lauren Douglass, sophomore middle blocker, and Jenna Allen, junior outside hitter, who collected 43 kills in total.
“I think we really need to focus on cutting down on our errors, playing our hardest on every point and never letting up,” Lexi Mercier, said sophomore middle blocker.
The Air Force Academy will comes into the tournament with a 5-6 record and Weber State at 2-8.
“To be successful this weekend, we need to take every set point for point and not take any opportunities for granted,” Schoelman said. “We need to realize what specifically needs to be done to score points, and do those things. We can definitely beat all of our opponents this weekend we just need to stay mentally engaged and aggressive both offensively and defensively. Everybody needs to have the mindset that they can score points for the team and really make a difference.”
