ACU (9-9, 4-2) got its third straight win taking down Utah Tech (6-10, 2-4) in five sets on Saturday.
The Wildcats came into Saturday night coming off of two straight wins including a sweep on Thursday against Southern Utah.
ACU would take the first two sets in Saturdays matchup, but the Trailblazers would send the match to the fifth, where the Wildcats would ultimately come out on top.
ACU would not trail at all during the first set and would string together a six point stretch midway through the set to take a 12-5 lead. The hot streak was led by graduate student middle blocker Breanna Box, who had a kill, as well as an assist and block for the Wildcats during the stretch. The Wildcats would hold steady with the lead and ultimately take the first set 25-18.
In the second set, ACU would grab an early 9-1 lead, thanks to two kills from junior outside hitter Bryley Steinhilber. The Wildcats and Trailblazers would each trade a 5-0 run and once again the Wildcats would close out the set finishing with another kill from Steinhilber, to end set two at 25-17.
Set three was more tight than the first two, as the two teams exchanged points through a majority of the match. It wasn’t until ACU led 21-18 that UTU had a burst of momentum scoring six straight and ultimately avoiding the sweep by taking set three 25-22
Utah Tech’s momentum would carry over into the fourth set as the Trailblazers would get up early taking a 9-2 lead. A Wildcat run would cut into the lead bringing the score to 10-9. However, UTU would dominate the remainder of the set, which included an 11-3 run to close out the game and after a 25-15 set win, a fifth set would be needed.
Despite all the momentum in Utah Tech’s favor, ACU was able to rally and string together nine straight points in the fifth set to take a commanding lead. The final set was led by sophomore outside hitter Ashli Edmiston who had three kills for the Wildcats first three points and junior setter Madeline Guffy who recorded nine assists, as well as a service ace and a kill to grab the 15-7 set win and the victory for the Wildcats.
Steinhilber led the team with 19 kills and Edmiston finished with nine. Guffy ended the night with 31 assists to go along with four service aces and senior outside hitter Andie Sheppard led the team with 15 digs.
The Wildcats look to keep their momentum going this week as they take on The University of Texas at Arlington on Thursday at 6 p.m. with the game streaming live ESPN+.
