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With just one more win, ACU volleyball can secure its first .500 or better conference record since 2011.
After the Wildcats most recent win over Incarnate Word, 3-1, they currently sit in a tie for fourth in the latest Southland Conference standings with four games remaining. ACU (7-5, 7-18) is set to take on McNeese State and Nicholls State this weekend in Louisiana.
The Wildcats enter the match fresh off their first road victory since late October of last season, when they stunned Southeastern Louisiana, 3-1, in Hammond. The senior trio of Jennie Loerch, Madison Hoover and Sarah Siemens all rank among the Southland Conference leaders in their respective categories.
Loerch is fourth in kills with 177 on the year, while Hoover leads the conference with 278 digs. Siemens has registered 507 assists this season, which leads the Southland.
McNeese State (6-6,11-16) currently sits one game back of the Wildcats in the Southland and are the only team ACU has not faced this year. The Cowgirls are coming off a four-set victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Halloween and will begin a season ending four-match homestand Thursday night against the Wildcats.
McNeese is 6-2 at home this season, but just three of those victories have come against conference opponents. ACU is 1-1 all-time against the Cowgirls.
ACU will then head to Nicholls State (6-18, 1-11) for a Saturday rematch against the Colonels. On paper, the Wildcats are on another level than Nicholls, but the Colonels already upset the Wildcats, 3-1, spoiling senior night and ending a three-game winning streak.
Nicholls is currently in last place in the conference, but evened the all-time series at 2-2 when they shocked the Wildcats just over a week ago. The Colonels are winless at home this season, as the Wildcats will be part of a three-game homestand for Nicholls State.
A win in either of these games would guarantee the Wildcats their best season since 2011, when they went 14-6 in the Lone Star Conference and eventually lost in the Sub-regional round.
If the Wildcats win each of their next four matches, they could finish as high as second place in the conference, exactly the opposite of where the preseason poll placed them.
