No. 25 Wildcats rally for win

Tuesday, September 6

Kingsville, TX

7 p.m.

Abilene Christian

Texas A&M - Kingsville

Photo by: Jeremy Enlow

9/6/2011 9:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

KINGSVILLE – The 25th-ranked ACU Wildcats scored five of the final six points of the match Tuesday night to win the decisive fifth set as they avoided an upset with a 3-2 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville in the Lone Star Conference-opener for both teams at Hampton Inn Court.

The win pushes the Wildcats to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the LSC, while the Lady Javelinas fall to 0-1 and 0-1. ACU will be back in action this weekend at the Angelo State Classic in San Angelo.

The Wildcats dropped the first two sets, 25-23, 25-19, before turning the match completely around and winning the final three sets, 25-15, 25-12, 15-13, to take the match.

Neither ACU nor Kingsville led the fifth set by more than one point before the Javelinas grabbed an 11-9 lead and then pushed it to 12-10 after a kill by Bethany Friesenhahn.
But a service error by Ali Insell cut the Kingsville lead to 12-11, and when Jennie Hutt dropped a kill on the Lady Javelinas, the set was tied 12-12.

Friesenhahn had an attack error to give ACU a 13-12 lead before Stephenaie Jones had a kill for the Lady Javelinas to tie the set, 13-13. But ACU would score the final two points of the match on back-to-back kills by Hutt – her 19th and 20th kills of the match, respectively – to take the 15-13 win in the fifth set.

Hutt led all players with 20 kills (.405 attack percentage) to go along with 19 digs and four blocks in perhaps the best all-around match of her career. Freshman Sara Oxford had 14 kills and six blocks, while setter Caley Johnson had 51 assists and 16 digs.

Johnson Named Lone Star Conference Co-Setter of the Week
Sophomore Caley Johnson was named Lone Star Conference Co-Setter of the Week Tuesday after helping the Wildcats post a 3-1 record at last weekend's St. Mary's Classic. Johnson played in all 13 sets, collecting 113 assists (8.69 per game). She also tied for the team lead with three service aces and posted ACU's best serving percentage at .981 (53 total attempts).

Side Out Club Returns Tuesday
ACU Volleyball's Side Out Club is currently accepting new members for the 2011 season. Club benefits include membership cards, t-shirts and invitations to Side Out Club socials, which include complementary meals and meet and greets with Wildcat players and coaches. All funds raised by the Side Out Club support ACU Volleyball.

The first Side Out Club social takes place at Moody Coliseum immediately following ACU's 7 p.m. match vs. Incarnate Word. Fans are encouraged to register for the Side Out Club that evening and enjoy a catered event with free food provided by Schlotzsky's.