ACU volleyball defeated Central Arkansas 3-1 Thursday night in Moody Coliseum, opening its final regular-season home weekend with a victory before hosting Eastern Kentucky at noon Saturday.

The victory extended the Wildcats’ winning streak to two matches following a 3-1 road win over UT Arlington in their final away match of the regular season. ACU’s previous home match was a 3-0 loss to Tarleton State on Nov. 5, snapping its eight-match home winning streak.

Avery Thaler, junior middle blocker from Fairfield, Texas, recorded a career-high 14 kills without an attack error on 20 attempts, finishing with a .700 hitting percentage. She also contributed three blocks against the Sugar Bears.

Brennan Ramirez, a redshirt sophomore libero from Waxahachie, reached a career milestone, surpassing 1,000 career digs after recording 23 against Central Arkansas. Ramirez became the third Wildcat in the Division I era to reach the 1,000-dig mark.

Hadlee Welch, sophomore right-side hitter from Lubbock, recorded eight kills and four blocks. As the Wildcats prepare to finish the regular season at home, Welch said playing at Moody Coliseum is important to the team.

“We’re really excited. Everyone plays better at home,” Welch said. “Being able to play here and have such amazing fans is really big to us.”

The Wildcats opened the first set with three consecutive points and maintained the lead throughout, taking the set 25-20.

Hannah Gonzalez, senior middle blocker from Lucas, led ACU offensively with four kills in the opening set.

Central Arkansas responded in the second set, defeating the Wildcats 25-16 to even the match at 1-1.

Aubrey Beaver, senior outside hitter from Murrieta, California, recorded three kills, while Gonzalez added three kills and an ace.

The Wildcats responded in the third set with a six-point run to build an 18-10 lead before closing out the set with a 25-15 victory and taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

ACU recorded a .500 hitting percentage in the third set, converting 28 attacks into 17 kills.

Both teams traded points early in the fourth set before ACU scored six consecutive points to take an 11-6 lead. The Wildcats later extended their advantage to 17-9, but the Sugar Bears responded with four consecutive points to cut the deficit to 22-19.

Maddie Finnegan, junior outside hitter from Spokane, Washington, secured the final point with her second ace of the set, giving ACU a 25-20 fourth-set victory and its 11th UAC win of the season.

Rachel Koss, senior setter from Freedom, Wisconsin, recorded her sixth 50-assist performance of the season with 52 assists.

Gonzalez finished the match with 14 kills, two blocks and one ace, while Beaver added nine kills.

The victory improved the Wildcats’ home record to 10-3, giving them their most home victories in a season since 2009.

ACU will host Eastern Kentucky at noon Saturday for its final home regular-season match and Senior Day.

Eastern Kentucky enters Saturday’s matchup with an undefeated 15-0 conference record. Head coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup views the opportunity to face the Colonels at home before the conference tournament as a chance to prepare for the postseason.

“It’s pretty obvious that anyone who wants to win the conference tournament has to go through EKU,” Moronu Alstrup said. “I think it’s perfect timing for us to be able to see them before we get to the conference tournament. Really just focus on our side of the court and seeing where that takes us.”