ACU volleyball will play its final Senior Day match of the season at 2 p.m. Saturday against Northwestern State University in Moody Coliseum.
The Wildcats will finish their season on a strong note entering the game with back-to-back wins. Both wins were won in four sets, the first against McNeese State (25-27, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-23) and the second against Nicholls State (21-25, 25-27, 25-21 and 25-17).
“We have been really focused and determined about our defense, blocking and digging,” said Jason Bibler, head coach. “We have really taken advantage of our opportunities at the net defensively and done a great job of terminating when we need to. Overall, just a great team effort. Everyone has really been stepping up and taking ownership of their roles.”
ACU defeated McNeese 3-1 in a comeback victory as they held the Cowgirls to a .079 hitting percentage last Thursday. The Wildcats recorded 16 blocks, seven of which came in the fourth set of the night. Lexi Mercier, sophomore middle blocker from Centennial, Colorado, had one solo block along with six assists.
Jennie Loerch, junior outside hitter from Georgetown, recorded a team-high of 16 kills for the night along with three block assists and 11 digs.
Brooke Ray, sophomore libero from Lucas, also had an impressive night as she had 29 digs.
This defeat dropped the Cowgirls to 4-9 in conference play.
The Wildcats came from behind once again and recorded their second conference win at home defeating Nicholls State, 3-1.
This was the second time ACU and Nicholls State faced off in Moody this year, but this time the Wildcats pulled through with a win. ACU capitalized on 24 Colonels’ errors and held them to .128 hitting percentage for the night.
Ray recorded 16 digs followed by junior libero from Flower Mound, Madison Hoover, with 15 digs. This was Hoovers’ first match back from injury.
Loerch led ACU’s offense once again with 15 kills and recorded four block assists as well.
“I know my role on the team, so I’ve been trying to maintain my mindset that helps me perform successfully at this level,” Loerch said.
This loss dropped Nicholls State 5-9 in conference and improved ACU’s record to 4-10 in the Southland.
Northwestern State will enter Saturday’s match coming off a loss against Stephen F. Austin (24-26, 22-25, 25-22 and 23-25).
“Northwestern leads the conference in digs, so we can expect some really long rallies,” Bibler said. “We have some specific areas of the court that we will need to attack in order to score points, and we will have to match their defensive aggressiveness which we are definitely capable of doing.”
