The Wildcats won their first Western Athletic Conference game of the season on Saturday versus the Lamar Cardinals. ACU dominated in a 3-1 sweep of the Cardinals that included quality offensive performances from multiple Wildcats.
Entering the match, both teams were yet to win a game in conference play. Both teams were also voted in the bottom three of the WAC eastern preseason poll.
The first set was a show of absolute dominance where after a close back and forth the Wildcats opened their sails for a 25-13 win. The Wildcats managed a 0.625 hitting percentage in the set along with 15 kills and no errors.
A similar story was found in the second set where after a close battle the Wildcats pulled away to a dominant win 25-17. This would be the second time the Wildcats would hold Lamar to less than 20 points while only allowing ten or fewer kills.
The third set would prove to be the only stain on the Wildcats’ resume Saturday. The set was a very well-rounded offensive and defensive showing from the Cardinals.
During this set, the Wildcats could only manage a zero hitting percentage, while creating a match-high nine errors. This offensive slump resulted in a 25-20 set win for the Cardinals making the match 2-1 in favor of the Wildcats.
In the final set, the Cardinals looked to have the Wildcats number till the Wildcats 10-2 scoring run to pull away. From there it was easy work as the Wildcats ended the set 25-15 winning the match 3-1.
“It was a lot of one-on-one opportunities for our attackers because we were able to be in system and set a good tempo of ball,” head coach Angela Mooney said. “That’s just the stuff that we’ve been working on this week about being aggressive when we have the opportunities, and we were able to capitalize on that.”
One player that stood out was Braden Bossier, redshirt freshman middle blocker from Fairfield. Bossier had a standout performance both offensively and defensively leading the team in both block assists and hitting percentage.
“I think just the control we had, they were playing obviously really well in the back row defense and that enabled us to transition and put us in a position to get kills,” Bossier said. “Also just having the aggressive mindset you know don’t be scared to just attack and make mistakes as long as they’re aggressive.”
The Wildcats will play Lamar again on Nov. 11 in Beaumont. The Wildcat’s next game will be against conference rival Tarleton State Texans on Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. in Stephenville.
