ABILENE – ACU committed 22 errors their third highest total of the season as West Texas A&M handed the Wildcats their first conference loss of the season Thursday night. The Wildcats fell 3-0 to the Lady Buffs in front of more than 1,500 fans.
Both teams came out battling point for point in a highly anticipated Lone Star Conference match. ACU raced out to a 5-3 lead, but the Lady Buffs would battle back to tie the game at 7 after an error from
Kalynne Allen.
The Wildcats would jump back out on top 20-16 before a WTAMU timeout would end the ACU rally. Both teams would trade points but two kills and an ACU error would push the Lady Buffs to a 26-24 win in the opening set.
The Wildcats could never recover in either of the final two sets as the Lady Buffs hit .378 and only committed six errors in the first two sets. Both teams would struggle in the final set, but the Lady Buffs proved too much for the Wildcats.
Seniors
Jordan Schilling and
Shawna Hines lead all players with 12 kills each. Schilling posted a double-double as she added 11 digs in the match. Hines recorded four blocks all coming in the final two sets for the Wildcats.
For the Lady Buffs Lauren Thedford and Ashley Davis each tallied 11 kills.
West Texas A&M continues their NCAA record 79 conference winning streak and clinches at least a share of the Lone Star Conference regular season title. WTAMU travels to Angelo State on Saturday as a win would give them the regular season championship and the host of next week's conference tournament.
ACU falls to 12-1 in league play and 24-4 overall entering Saturday's regular season finale. The Wildcats host Eastern New Mexico at Moody Coliseum with tipoff set for 2 p.m.
