The women’s volleyball team captured its second win of the season against Weber State in the Lone Star Showdown last weekend.
After being swept in consecutive matches against Texas Tech and Air Force, the Wildcats were able to bounce back and sweep Weber State (25-22, 29-27 and 27-25).
“We did a great job of playing calm and confident and focusing on just moving on to the next point rather than dwelling on mistakes,” Jennie Lorech said, junior outside hitter.
The match was relatively entertaining, as it featured 15 lead changes and 34 tie scores. ACU hit .192 for the game, dug 47 of the Weber State Wildcats’ 114 attacks and blocked 12.5 shots.
Jennie Loerch, junior outside hitter from Georgetown, led all players with a season high of 16 kills. Loerch was the lone Wildcat selected to the All-Tournament team. Neely Borger, senior from Amarillo, had a strong, well-rounded game with four kills on seven attempts and six blocks, one of which was a solo effort.
Stephanie Schoelman, freshman outside hitter form Georgetown, had nine kills on the afternoon and added a game high of 12 digs. Lexi Mercier, sophomore middle blocker from Centennial, Colorado, added seven kills of her own, and Madison Hoover, junior libero from Flower Mound, had 11 digs in a winning effort.
Weber State nearly forced a game four after scoring four consecutive points in game three to take a 24-23 lead, but Rachel Riley, senior right side hitter from Flower Mound, tied the score on match point with the assist coming from Sarah Siemens, junior setter from Bakersfield, California.
In the battle of the Wildcats, game two provided 16 tied scores as neither team was able to pull away for very long. ACU reached 25 points, coming off one of 10 Weber State serving errors in the game.
“We know what it takes to compete at a high level and to win at this level,” Lorech said. “We need to cut down on unforced errors and work on being more level headed in high pressure situations. Even though our record doesn’t show it, we’re a talented group of players we just need to be consistent.”
The win puts ACU at 2-11 for the season, after going 1-2 during the Lone Star Showdown in Lubbock.
The Wildcats now prepare for conference play, with the University of Central Arkansas next on the slate. The game will be at 7 p.m. Thursday in Moody Coliseum. It will be the volleyball team’s last home game until Oct. 16.
