After a long summer of preparation, the Wildcats are ready to start the season strong with a substantial tournament schedule.

Participating in the Baylor Classic in Waco, the volleyball team will face off against Baylor University, Campbell University and the University of Tulsa.

The Baylor Classic is the first of four tournaments to open the Wildcats’ season.

The Wildcats will play the Baylor Bears at 11 a.m. Friday for their first game of the season.

Games against bigger schools like these give the Wildcats a chance to either gain confidence or find areas that need improvement, said Madeline Guffy, senior setter from Krum. 

Having three games in such a short span is not easy, especially without any scouting information from earlier in the season. However, head coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup believes this tight schedule provides a good learning opportunity for the team.

“I think we’re playing three really tough matches, and so it’s going to help show how tough we can be whenever our backs are against the wall,” she said. 

High-intensity games against Power Four schools are as tough mentally as they are physically.

“I think we just need to have the mentality that every ball is the last ball,” Guffy said. 

Keeping the same energy throughout each match this weekend is important to the Wildcats’ game plan. 

Without the ability to scout for the matches this weekend, the Wildcats will have to focus on themselves and play the best volleyball they can, Moronu Alstrup said.

Moronu Alstrup needs the hitters to swing high and hard going into the weekend until they can develop a game plan for the teams in the tournament.

Guffy knows her position as a setter is key to the team’s success. She and the other setters have been communicating in the offseason about the best ways to help the hitters score, she said. 

Moronu Alstrup said she is excited to get the season started and see how the girls develop as a team, but also how they grow off the court. 

“A big part of my mission at ACU is that the girls leave the program with serving hearts and are pretty much just better people than when they first came in,” she said. “So I’m just excited to continue to foster those relationships and see how each individual can grow, and then how we can also grow as a unit.”