The volleyball team will continue conference play Saturday when it travels to Hammond, Louisiana to play Southeastern Louisiana University.

The Wildcats will be coming away from playing New Orleans, and the Lions will have just faced Incarnate Word, another Southland Conference rival.

The Lions have an even record in conference play with four wins and four losses while the ACU team is looking for its first conference win.

Despite its record, the team has not lowered its expectations and continues to fight on the court.

“Every team is tough, and we aren’t expecting that to be any different this week,” said Taylor Nix, senior outside hitter from Crawford. “We can’t underestimate any team we face at any part of the season. All we can do is focus on our side of the net and play to our strengths and advantages.”

Veronica Turk is a key player for Southeastern Louisiana and leads her team with 78.5 points in conference play. Jennie Loerch, a junior outside hitter from Georgetown, leads in points for ACU with 148.5 in eight games against Southland teams.

The Wildcats know they only have to work harder as the season progresses, and that is what they plan to do.

“We are always looking to get better in every aspect of the game, and I know that this week will be no different for us,” said Tucker Smith, sophomore setter from Abilene. “I know that we all want to keep working on being the strongest blocking team that we can be as well as continuing to run a fast offense. Basically, we just need to always look for improvement on the little things.”

The Wildcats are more than halfway done with conference play and look to turn their season around. They are competing against strong opponents and are making themselves better by doing so.

“We know that every team is a strong opponent, and Southeastern Louisiana won’t be any different,” Smith said. “We know we need to work hard, but we have confidence in each other.”

Southeastern Louisiana will not be an easy team for ACU, but, with preparation, the Wildcats have a chance to come out on top this weekend.

“The season is getting close to the end,” Smith said. “Because of this, we are all just going to be giving it our everything and playing all out because we want to do the best we can and enjoy the little time we have left.”

The Cats are working diligently so they are able to walk away from this weekend with multiple wins, awarding them their first victory in conference and boosting their overall record, which is currently 2-19.

“At this point in the season, we are playing for each other, ourselves and for the future of the ACU volleyball program,” Nix said.