ACU Volleyball Ahead Of Schedule
8/18/2011 5:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
ABILENE – As the No. 23 Abilene Christian women's volleyball team begins its fourth day of practice Thursday at Moody Coliseum, sixth-year head coach Kellen Mock says the hard-working Wildcat squad presently is further along than she originally expected.
This is somewhat of a pleasant surprise for Mock as the 2011 roster – inundated with youth (six freshmen and four sophomores) – looks to fill vacancies left behind by All American Shawna Hines, two-time first team all-Lone Star Conference setter Ijeoma Moronu and LSC second team honoree Jordan Schilling.
Hines, a 2009 third team All American and 2010 honorable mention, registered 323 kills a year ago with a .314 hitting percentage, while Shilling accounted for 273 kills to go along with a team high 25 service aces. Moronu, meanwhile, tallied 9.99 assists per set and finished second all-time at ACU with 4,847. Moronu now serves the program as a first-year graduate assistant coach.
Despite the influx of underclassmen, the ongoing youth movement can't define the Wildcats since they also return several experienced starters from last year's 27-6 club that advanced through to the semifinal round of the DII South Central Regional Tournament. This crop of key returnees includes libero Kelsey Edwards, outside hitter Jennie Hutt, rightside Kalynne Allen and LSC Freshman of the Year and middle blocker Neely Borger.
An honorable mention conference selection, Borger appeared in 118 of a possible 119 sets in 2010 and provided 194 kills, .288 hitting percentage and 23 aces. Borger returned to campus playing better than ever according to Mock, and is one of three individuals the Wildcats will look to collect points from in the middle along with 6-foot-2 redshirt freshman Whitney Stevens and Sara Oxford, an all-state performer from Decatur High School.
Borger, with Allen, has set the bar very high for their teammates early in practice in terms of intensity, which has greatly impressed Mock.
“Kalynne and Neely have been competing at a high level and are playing as well as they did last season if not better,” she said, adding, “All the returning starters have been setting the tone at practice. They've been kind and respectful to the freshman, but very demanding at the same time. Like the coaching staff, they have very high expectations which we expect everyone to live up to.”
The biggest question mark at this point in the year surrounds the setter position. Mock has witnessed great plays made by contenders sophomore Caley Johnson and freshman Haley Rhoads but hasn't been convinced of a direction to take.
Johnson appeared in only 10 sets as a back up to Moronu in 2010, but did well for herself during the five-set quarterfinal regional victory vs. No. 18 Truman State, contributing four assists and four digs. Rhoads was the starting setter for two seasons at Georgetown High School, and as a senior team captain, averaged 7.9 assists per game.
“Caley and Haley are both playing so hard they're forcing me into making a tough decision,” said Mock. “Caley played well with confidence at a crucial time for us during last year's postseason run, and then continued to play great in the spring and has been even better in the fall.
“Haley's been very impressive as well, possessing a natural touch on the ball and other qualities that enable our hitters to perform at their best.”
The Wildcats understand that 2011 is going to be an uphill battle despite entering this season with so many decorated veterans, a talented crop of newcomers and spot in the preseason top-25. But elsewhere in the LSC, West Texas A&M is in the midst of a five-year run on conference titles, and Angelo State returns seven juniors and three seniors from last year's squad that went finished a game behind ACU in the standings at 10-3.
Both schools were voted ahead of the Wildcats in the LSC preseason poll, even though nationally the Lady Buffs were placed in the receiving votes category while the Rambelles were completely left out.
“I wish we were a little higher in the conference poll,” Mock said, “but it forces our girls to show how good they really are on the court. They also realize they have their work cut out for them and that it's going to be tough to beat both these schools.
“I don't see the No. 3 ranking as a knock on us but rather a show of respect to the girls at Angelo State and West Texas A&M. Angelo State is expecting to be good, and has a great thing going for it with so many returning upperclassmen. And they don't know the definition of a down year in Canyon.”
The Wildcats begin their season the weekend of Sept. 2-3 at the St. Mary's Tournament in San Antonio against Illinois-Springfield, Regis (Colo.), East Central (Okla.), and Pace University. ACU's first home match takes place Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. against Incarnate Word.
