ACU has started its season 2-0 after defeating the University of Incarnate Word on Saturday, 3-2.
Heading into the ACU Invitational Tournament, head coach Angela Mooney had high expectations for her team.
“We talk a lot in our gym, and the way we train is that in practice, we really want to be mechanical we want to be thoughtful,” said Mooney. “When we get in to play, that’s when we’re celebrating, that’s when we’re having fun, that’s when we’re being athletic. So, I want us to be aggressive, I want us to be athletic, I want to use our best attributes in the best way possible.”
The Wildcats did not disappoint by going in and defeating the UT-Arlington Mavericks, 3-1. Saturday, however, they found themselves down 2-0 early versus the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals.
The Wildcats fell to the Cardinals in the first two sets, 25-18 and 25-21, respectively. Once ACU reached the third set, they were able to find a groove early that earned them a five-point lead.
The rest of the third set would be a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. However, in the end, the Wildcats would utilize a late 3-0 run to win the set, 25-21.
The fourth set was yet another close battle, with the Wildcats being victorious 25-21 to tie the match at two sets apiece.
The fifth set was highlighted by a 5-0 scoring run for the Wildcats, which caused ACU to win the final set 15-11 and complete a well-deserved comeback.
While the comeback was impressive, senior outside and right-side hitter from New Braunfels, Lindsey Toney, feels there is still room for improvement as the team moves forward.
“I just think we need to maybe work on settling down a bit more when things start getting a little crazy and just taking that time to reset, refocus, and go back to playing how we play,” Toney said.
Toney served as one of the primary forces of offense for the Wildcats at the ACU Invitational, having 33 kills on Friday and 29 kills on Saturday.
Another notable performance this weekend came from redshirt junior setter Madison Rohre from Woodway. On Friday, Rohre had 10 more assists than the entirety of the UTA team and tacked on another 53 in the Saturday victory versus UIW.
The Wildcats will continue their season versus the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Teague Special Events Center, with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
