The Wildcats will wrap up their non-conference season tournament play this Friday and Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla.
ACU will be joined by host team Florida Atlantic University, Tulane, Florida Gulf Coast and UT-Rio Grande Valley.
“We are just looking to improve each day and get better as a team and get ready for where we need to be come conference play,” head coach Jason Bibler said.
The first game for the Wildcats will take place against the tournament host Owls. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in their school’s history, as FAU will be brings in a 4-6 record with a notable win over Georgetown.
ACU will then take on UT Rio Grande Valley in a rematch from the Texas Tech tournament, whenUTRGV beat ACU in three straight sets. The Vaqueros boast a 6-4 record, with a win coming against Southland Conference opponent Stephen F. Austin, and losses to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (twice) and Sam Houston State.
“I know we will play a lot better than we did last weekend. We know that we didn’t meet our own expectations of how we play and what we wanted to accomplish,” Bibler said. “But we know how much work we have to put in this weekend and how hard we have to play to accomplish those things, so I think this will be a good weekend for us.”
On Saturday the Wildcat face off against the Green Wave from Tulane University. Tulane has a 6-3 record, with victories over Clemson and Southland Conference opponent McNeese State, but also a loss to another Southland team Sam Houston State.
The last game of the tournament will be against Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles are riding a 7-2 record and a six-game win streak into the tournament. FGCU will be led by senior Leigh Pudwill, who was named Tournament MVP of the Homewood Suites Classic after slamming down 41 kills on 75 attacks with 11 digs and four total blocks. Pudwill hasn’t fallen below a .410 hitting percentage in her last four matches, while totaling nearly 100 attacks over that span.
“We have definitely gotten a lot faster as the season has gone on,” Bibler said. “We are playing really well right now as a unit and team, and so we want to continue to do that as we go forward.”
