ACU brought in the new weekend Friday by garnering back-to-back wins on the first day of the North Texas Tournament.
This would rebound the Wildcats from a rough last weekend where the team went 1-2 in the Wildcat Classic.
The Wildcats opened the tournament at 1 p.m. versus the Montana State Bobcats. However, ACU showed they were not wasting time, winning the match 3-0.
The first set was a very close back and forth battle where both teams held each other within grasp. But the Wildcats were able to pull away thanks to a 6-0 scoring run that locked in a 25-19 win.
The second set was once again a heated competition where the Wildcats walked away with a 25-23 win. The third set continued the competitive sets that the two teams were having, ACU was able to win this set once again 25-23.
In the match, the Wildcats out-killed the Bobcats 43-33 and managed a .220 team hitting percentage. Breanna Box, a junior middle blocker from Wichita Falls, had a career-high hitting percentage of .571, breaking her single-game record of .435 from 2019.
The Wildcats continued the tournament at 4:30 p.m. versus the Jackson State Tigers. ACU once again found themselves victorious 3-1 in a closely contested battle.
In the first set, the Wildcats utilized an early scoring run of 5-1 to open the set. The Wildcats maintained this early momentum to go on to win 25-16.
The second set came to be the Wildcat’s first set loss of the day. ACU had a late 24-21lead, but the Bobcats formulated a late 6-1 run to win the set 27-25.
The third set was highlighted by early scoring by the Wildcats that created a 14-9 lead. This stable lead and consistent play led the Wildcats to a 25-19 third set win.
The fourth set was one wherein the Wildcats used a 7-0 run powered by back-to-back service aces from graduate transfer libero Madison Lawler of Grapevine. This helped ACU win the set 25-22 to win the match up 3-1.
Breanna Box once again turned out an impressive performance with a .611 hitting percentage breaking her career-best for the second time that day. In addition, senior outside and right-side hitter from New Braunfels Lindsey Toney, had a rebound performance leading the team in kills and points.
The Wildcats will continue the North Texas tournament on Sept. 11 at 1:30 p.m., facing the host North Texas Mean Green.
