ACU begins LSC title defense
Wildcats welcome 16 players to season's first practice
ABILENE -- ACU head coach Brek Horn welcomed 16 players to campus on Sunday, and on Monday the 2005 Wildcats went through their first workout as they begin defense of the program's 2004 Lone Star Conference championship.
Among the 16 players who reported Sunday are nine letterwinners, including three NCAA Division II all-Southwest Region players from 2004 in senior middle blocker Amanda Slate (first team), senior setter Lindsey Martin (honorable mention) and senior outside hitter Michelle Bernhardt (honorable mention).
Last year as a junior, Slate became the first Wildcat volleyball player to ever be named LSC South Division MVP, LSC Post-Season Tournament MVP and first team all-region. Bernhardt, a two-time first team all-LSC South Division selection, was voted the LSC South Division Pre-Season MVP last month, and she'll enter her senior season as the school's all-time leader in kills.
Martin was a first team all-LSC South selection last year and ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II volleyball in assists per game (13.52). She is No. 2 on the school's all-time assists list, but should break that record early in the season.
The Wildcats will also return all-LSC South Division selections in senior rightside hitter Ashlee Motola and sophomore outside hitter Abbie Lowry, who was also named to the all-tournament team at the regional tournament.
ACU finished 28-8 in 2004 and won the school's first Lone Star Conference championship in volleyball and reached the NCAA Division II Southwest Region Tournament for the first time in school history. The voters in the LSC pre-season poll expect the Wildcats to pick up right where they left off in 2004 as they were made a unanimous choice to win the LSC South Division title in 2005, picking up all 17 first-place votes for 102 points.
ACU will be challenged right off the bat, because Horn put together an extremely difficult start to the 2005 season. ACU will go to Tampa, Fla., Aug. 26-27, to play in the Tampa Classic. The Wildcats will take on Tampa, Fla., in their first match, followed by Central Missouri State and then Metropolitan State. Tampa was ranked No. 14 and CMSU No. 9 in the final American Volleyball Coaches' Association poll in 2004, while Metro State was an NCAA II Southwest Region Tournament participant in 2004.
ACU will then go to Denver, Colo., Sept. 2-3 to play in the Premier Challenge, hosted by Metro State. The field in the Challenge includes defending national champion Barry (Fla.) and Division II powerhouse and ACU's LSC rival, West Texas A&M. The Wildcats will take on Concordia-St. Paul -- ranked No. 7 in last year's final poll -- in their first match of the tournament, followed by a match against Regis (Colo.).
"I put together a tough schedule to open our season, because I want our players to have the attitude we need to carry with us all year right from the start," Horn said. "We'll have to be ready to play from our first match of the year. But I know what these girls can do, and I believe they'll be in the right frame of mind. And when that happens, we're a lot of fun to watch."
