ABILENE – Less than 48 hours removed from an exhausting five-set win Tuesday night, the Abilene Christian women's volleyball team will be back sailing the concrete seas tomorrow for the start of a three-city Lone Star Conference road trip.
The Wildcats' (6-4, 2-0) first stop is at A&M-Commerce (2-3, 1-2 LSC) Thursday night, and will be followed by a Saturday matinee at Texas Woman's University (1-6, 1-2 LSC). By the time ACU concludes its journey next Monday night in San Antonio for a rematch vs. Incarnate Word (4-6, 1-3 LSC), it will have played 12 of its first 13 games away from home.
ACU has so far played well on the road and within the conference this season even though a large portion of its starting lineup is comprised with first and second-year players. But when combined with veteran talents
Jennie Hutt and
Kelsie Edwards these youngsters have helped the Wildcats grind out consecutive five-set wins over A&M-Kingsville and the aforementioned Cardinals.
ACU dropped its first two sets at Kingsville in the conference opener on Sept. 6 before rallying to win the next three, but last night against Incarnate Word, the Wildcats dropped sets three and four before clawing their way back in set No. 5.
“Sometimes you just have to sit back and say 'a win's a win',” said head coach Kellen Mock, “and when you're relying on younger players as much as we are, to start to 2-0 in the conference is a great confidence booster. We've had our share of tough losses, but so far they haven't come in the LSC, which tells me my team is capable of turning it on when it matters most.”
Hutt, the Wildcats' senior outside hitter, wasn't just on last night, she was on fire, giving the home fans an MVP-caliber performance behind a career high 32 kills. Hutt's kill total ranks second all-time on the program's single-match record list behind only Jennifer Purvis, who had 38 vs. St. Mary's in Nov. 2000.
“That was a phenomenal performance,” Mock said of Hutt. “We wanted to set up her attacks from the outside, so I'm guessing our game plan was a success.”
Hutt finished the night with a .424 hitting percentage and played error-free in the first, third and fifth sets. She also was credited with nine digs, two assists and a block.
Beyond Hutt's heroics, the Wildcats received solid efforts from Edwards (28 digs), setters
Caley Johnson (49 assists) and
Haley Rhoads (16 assists) and freshman
Sara Oxford (12 kills, .409 hitting percentage).
Eleven Wildcats were inserted into last night's rotation with all but three playing four sets or more, and Mock believes her team's deep bench will help get the Wildcats get through this road trip successfully.
“The few players I ran into this morning were doing well. Of course, recovery is always easier following a victory because that mental boost can overcome how you feel physically,” she said. “Lucky for us we still have fresh legs coming off the bench, and all these girls can step right in there and contribute. We're going to get pushed everywhere we go on this trip, so I'm going to push them just as hard at practice today.”
