With only one regular-season match left, Wildcat volleyball has all but solidified its fate for the postseason conference tournament.
The Wildcats defeated California Baptist University Thursday night in a dominant 3-0 sweep. The team hit .333 in the match, which is good for the third-best all season for the Wildcats.
Aubrey Beaver, junior outside hitter from Murrieta, California, led the team’s offense with 11 kills and a .588 hitting percentage.
Head Coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said the focus going into the game was the same as it has been all season for the Wildcats–control the controllables.
“Our conference is one where the difference between the top and the bottom is so small, so really any team can beat any team on any given day,” she said. “Our focus is honestly the same. Just working hard on our side of the court, regardless of who’s on the other side.”
A key offensive piece for the Wildcats this season has been Courtney Church, redshirt freshman outside hitter from Driftwood, who sat out the entire 2024 season with an ACL tear.
Church said it has been important to her to be present with the team through all the ups and downs that happen throughout a season, especially with the chance to finish on a winning streak.
“We talked about it on Monday in practice, just about remembering all of the work that’s come up to this point and not taking it for granted,” she said. “Looking back at the past and all the things that we’ve talked about as a team, and just keeping that at the forefront of our mind, going into these next two games and just finishing strong is a big one.”
The Wildcats have worked hard to get to the point they are at, logging a 12-15 record so far this year. This is the program’s first 12-win season since 2018.
The team also has the opportunity to finish the regular season with a winning record at home, which would likely give them momentum going into the conference tournament, which the Wildcats are hosting this season.
With Thursday’s win over CBU and Southern Utah University’s win over the University of Texas-Arlington, the Wildcats have clinched the No. 4 seed in the tournament, which will be in Moody Coliseum Nov. 20-22.
Finishing the season out at home is often a big motivator for teams, especially since not everyone has the opportunity, especially when taking the conference tournament into account.
“We’re just so excited and super blessed,” Moronu Alstrup said. “We recognize that not everyone gets to have their last two games at home, nonetheless, host the conference tournament. So we’re super excited about that and feeling very blessed to be in that position right now.”
Church agreed and said playing in front of home fans is a big motivator for the team.
“We really feed off of being on our home court and having home court advantage,” Church said. “We also have the ability to finish in Moody with a winning record at home, and I think that that would just be an amazing thing for us.”
Saturday’s game against Utah Valley University will begin at 1 p.m., and the Wildcats will be celebrating Senior Day for Ashli Edmiston, outside hitter from Wilsonville, Oregon, and Becca Siedenburg, setter from Wales, Wisconsin.
