Abilene Christian
Texas A&M Kingsville
ACU sweeps; advance to semis
11/12/2009 4:28:16 PM | Women's Volleyball
CANYON – The ACU volleyball team has to be feeling déjà vu after beating Texas A&M-Kingsville in straight sets, 3-0 Thursday afternoon at The Box on the campus of West Texas A&M.
For starters this was the second time in a week that ACU (28-5) and TAMKU (17-13) found themselves on the same court, which ended with the same result. Also on Thursday the NCAA Regional Rankings were released and the Wildcats find themselves in the same position as they were a year ago sitting at No. 8.
As for the game the Wildcats put the Javelinas away 25-21 in the first set as neither team took control in an error filled set. However, in the second and third set the Wildcats played like a team that won 15
straight matches to end the regular season, which is now at 16 straight.
Ijeoma Moronu and Shawna Hines who were both named All-LSC First Team earlier today led the Wildcats to a 25-16 and 25-19 victory in the final two sets completing the sweep. Moronu recorded 30 assists in the match along with four kills. Hines, who also earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, recorded four blocks and six kills in the Wildcat win.
In terms of the Regional Rankings the top eight teams are invited to the NCAA Tournament, however the Lone Star Conference along with 21 other conferences receive an automatic bid for their champion regardless of final regional ranking. A very similar position the Wildcats found themselves in last year. Sitting at No. 8 last year they were left out of the South Central Regional Tournament as a Heartland Conference team earned the automatic bid. This makes winning this year's LSC Tournament possibly the Wildcats only shot at making the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats will continue their push to the Title as they move on to play Angelo State on Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. as the tournament continues in Canyon.
