ACU sweeps Lady Buffs
10/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Wildcats sweep Lady Buffs
ACU remains in first place in LSC South at 6-1
CANYON -- ACU completed a first-ever season sweep of West Texas A&M on Saturday, defeating the Lady Buffs 3-0 in front of more than 400 fans at the West Texas A&M Fieldhouse.
The Wildcats' sweep, however, didn't come easy as they won 30-28, 30-26 and 37-35 to beat the Lady Buffs for the second time this season and only the sixth time in the history of the program. The loss was another historic one for the Lady Buffs in this season of historic losses as ACU's sweep marked the first time since a Texas Woman's 2-0 sweep in 1987 that the Lady Buffs had been swept at home by a conference foe.
The win pushes ACU to 21-7 overall, but, even more importantly, keeps the Wildcats in first place in the Lone Star Conference South Division at 6-1. The Wildcats got some help from Angelo State on Saturday as the Rambelles beat third-place Eastern New Mexico in five games. ASU is in second place in the division at 5-2, while the Zias fall to 4-3.
ACU has five matches remaining in the regular season, and all of them will be played at home at Moody Coliseum where it is 10-0 this season. The first of those matches will be Thursday against Texas A&M-Kingsville, followed by a Saturday afternoon match against Tarleton State and then a Nov. 2 matchup with Angelo State that could determine the division champion. The Wildcats will close out the regular season Nov. 5-6 with non-conference matches against Incarnate Word and St. Mary's.
The Wildcats were in danger of falling behind 1-0 as they trailed 28-25 in the first game before they reeled off five straight points to close out the game one win. Michelle Bernhardt and Sophia Kindred each had two kills in the 5-0 run to end the game.
ACU jumped out to a 4-1 in in the second game and never trailed on their way to their biggest margin of victory on the day. Motola had seven of her match-high 17 kills in the game as the Wildcats opened a 2-0 lead in games.
The third game was a see-saw affair as neither team led by more than three points at any point. The Wildcats trailed 33-32 before a Motola kill and a WTAM error gave ACU a 34-33 lead. After a Motola service error on match point knotted the score again at 34-34, Bernhardt had a kill to give ACU match point again. After back-to-back service errors by each team gave ACU a 36-35 lead, freshman Abbie Lowry ended the match with the last of her 13 kills.
Bernhardt had 12 kills, while Amanda Slate had 11 kills and three block assists. Junior setter Lindsey Martin had 53 assists and senior libero Kellen Morrow had a team-high 15 digs.
