On Friday, ACU opened the Wildcat Classic tournament falling to the undefeated New Mexico Lobos, 3-0.
This would be the first time ACU would suffer back-to-back losses this season, having lost to Texas Tech on Tuesday.
The first set was highlights by a 15-3 run by the Lobos, which created a 22-9 lead. Though being down, the Wildcats managed to tack on 4 points late in the set, still falling 25-13.
The Lobos continued their dominance in the second set, once again winning the set 25-13. This was after the Lobos went on several different scoring runs late in the game after an early back and forth.
The third and final set would be the Wildcat’s most competitive of the day. The team managed to hold the Lobos within reach till late in the set where New Mexico was able to pull ahead and win the set 25-21.
This would be the third time the Wildcats would lose to New Mexico, having played the Lobos in 2015 and 2017. In both instances, the Lobos defeated ACU in three straight sets apiece.
A standout performance for ACU in this matchup came from junior outside and right-side hitter from Austin, Jada Birkel. Birkel, a transfer from the University of Memphis, recorded a personal season-high hitting percentage of .391 and tied for the lead in kills with 11.
Other notable performances came from Madison Rohre, a redshirt junior setter from Woodway, who notched a team-leading 26 assists. Also, Madison Lawler, graduate transfer libero from Grapevine, had 16 digs in the contest.
The Wildcats will continue their efforts in the Wildcat Classic on Sept. 4 versus the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix at 11 a.m. They will also face the Texas Southern University Tigers at 6 p.m. Both games will be at the Teague Special Events Center and streamed on the WAC digital network.
Green Bay is currently 0-1 in the Wildcat Classic after losing to New Mexico Friday 3-0. The Tigers are also 0-1 in tournament play after losing to Green Bay 3-0; they will also play New Mexico on Sept. 4 at 2:30 p.m.
