Wildcats left out of regional
By Lance Fleming
11/15/2009 9:27:22 PM
ABILENE -- Late Sunday afternoon, the ACU volleyball team learned that for the second straight season a runner-up finish in the Lone Star Conference and more than 25 wins wasn't good enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament.
The Wildcats finish the 2009 season at 29-6 after losing to West Texas A&M in the LSC tournament championship match Saturday night in Canyon. The Wildcats carried a 17-match winning streak into the championship match before the 3-1 loss to the Lady Buffs.
But that impressive streak wasn't enough to get a an at-large bid to the regional tournament. Nor were two victories over Pittsburg State (Kan.), which reached the tournament as the No. 5 seed.
The regional tournament will be played Nov. 19-21 at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo. The Jennies of UCM are the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2 Washburn (Kan.), No. 3 West Texas A&M and No. 4 Emporia State (Kan.).
Pittsburg State is No. 5, followed by Truman State (Mo.) at No. 6, Nebraska-Omaha at No. 7 and Dallas Baptist at No. 8. The Lady Patriots of DBU carry the worst record of any team in the field into the tournament (20-16), but earned the Heartland Conference's automatic bid to the tournament.
Last season the Wildcats finished 26-9 and reached the LSC tournament championship match where their 12-match winning streak was snapped with a 3-2 loss to West Texas A&M in the championship match. However, that impressive record wasn't enough to get the Wildcats into the regional.
ACU is 55-15 over the last two season with winning streaks of 17, 12, nine and eight, but have been left out of the regional in each of those seasons. The Wildcats haven't made an appearance in the regional volleyball tournament since 2006, head coach Kellen Mock's first season.