After over a week of rest, volleyball hits the road this weekend, looking to finish out their away games on a high note for the season. ACU will be traveling to Natchitoches, Louisiana. Thursday to play against Northwestern State (11-15, 6-5) and then get back on the bus to go to Conway, Arkansas. for their final road game of the season against Central Arkansas (10-13, 4-7) Saturday.
Northwestern State enters the on game with a three-game losing streak after having lost to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. ACU is coming off a loss to Lamar, but have not lost two conference games in a row this season. The Lady Demons have been average at home as they have gone 3-2 in friendly confines. NSU has done better as a team than ACU with its hitting percentage, posting a .202 team percentage compared to the Wildcats .180. Each of the teams have done well holding their opponents to low hitting averages, as ACU just barely has the advantage allowing a .180 percentage compared to NSU’s .184.
The Lady Devils’ Alexis Warren has one of the top three kills per set averages in the conference with a 3.57. ACU’s Jacey Smith cracks the top-10 with her average of 2.84. Each team has two players in the top-10 in conference for service aces. NSU’s Warren (0.33) comes in at seventh and Natalie Jaeger (0.45) places second. ACU’s Kendall Bosse (0.35) just beats out Smith (0.34) for fifth place on the list.
Central Arkansas is also on a bit of a down swing, as they are on a two-game losing streak. The Sugar Bears have not had great success at home this year as they have posted a losing record of 3-5. UCA has posted a conference hitting percentage of .203, but give up a .230 hitting percent to their opponents.
Central Arkansas’s Elizabeth Armstrong boasts a 9.69 assists per set average which is ninth in the conference. Meanwhile, the Wildcat’s Bosse comes in behind her in tenth with her average of 6.84. Megan Nash averages 1.26 blocks per set for the Sugar Bears, good enough to have her in third place in the conference. ACU posts two players in the top-10, with Lauren Walker and Lexi Mercier tying for sixth with a 1.16 average.
ACU is fourth overall in the Southland standings, and will look to better its road record (2-8), before returning home to finish off the season with a four-game home stand.
