ABILENE – The Abilene Christian volleyball program kicks off its 42nd year of competition and 30th and final season as a member of the Lone Star Conference this weekend when it heads to the hill country of San Antonio and Austin for a joint tournament hosted by St. Edward's and St. Mary's.
The Wildcats first will battle the Hilltoppers of the Heartland Conference Friday at 11 a.m. and later take the court vs. Southwestern Oklahoma at 7 p.m.
The Hilltoppers dominated the Heartland a year ago, going 13-1 as part of a 21-11 overall record, and were equally strong at home with a mark of 10-1. Their stout record earned them a berth in the NCAA Championship, but they were edged, 3-2, by San Angelo in the first round.
ACU last faced SEU early in 2011 and lost 3-1, which snapped a four-match series-winning streak that stretched from 2005 to 2008.
The Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma went 9-19 last year, which was its first outside the Lone Star Conference. During their short stint as conference opponents, the Wildcats defeated the Bulldogs on all four occasions.
Saturday ACU heads to St. Mary's for a pair of neutral-site matches against Colorado State-Pueblo and Southeastern Oklahoma scheduled for 1 and 5 p.m. The Thunderwolves are a new regional opponent for the Wildcats this season as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference moved into the South Central Region to replace the both the MIAA and Great American Conference Southwestern and Southeastern Oklahoma are among the Great American Conference's 11 institutions.
ACU's first and only match vs. Pueblo took place in Oct. of 2003 and was quickly considered an instant classic as the Wildcats received a career best 31 kills from Michelle Bernhardt en route to winning in comeback fashion, 27-30, 26-30, 34-30, 30-23, 15-8.
Last year the Thunderwolves went 15-13 overall and 10-8 against the 14-team RMAC, which features three schools ranked in the AVCA Top 25 preseason poll.
ACU is 11-0 in its all-time series vs. the Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma and last played them in 2010, which was a 3-0 sweep for the Wildcats. The 2011 edition of the Savage Storm went 14-19.
This year's crop of Wildcats is young, but experienced in that they return several sophomores who were key during last season's turnaround in which ACU won 11 of its last 15 matches to reach the NCAA postseason.
Most notable among these returners are everyday setter
Haley Rhoads and middle blocker
Sara Oxford. Rhoads finished last season with finished with 1,132 assists, while Oxford won conference and region freshman of the year titles after recording a .274 hitting percentage and per-set averages of 0.66 blocks, 2.89 kills and 3.30 points.
Senior
Kalynne Allen and junior Madelyn Robinette are also among returning veterans. Allen started 25 matches for the 2011 Wildcats, contributing 264.0 points from the right side, but Robinette primarily served a defensive role in averaging 2.21 digs per set.
Early in 2011 Robinette recorded a career-best 21 digs in a five-set contest vs. Texas-Permian Basin, and is entering the weekend eager to fill the role left behind by
Kelsie Edwards, who graduated from ACU as its all-time leader in digs.
“I can't replace Kelsie on the court, but I've learned a lot from her the past two years,” Robinette said. “She taught me not only the importance of playing the libero position, but how to run the court, and encourage teammates to stay calm and collected. This team may be young but the potential is there for us to go far.”
Head coach Kellen Mock added she hopes the high number of returning players translates into less of a roller-coaster ride of a season. Last year's group started 10-10 and at one point dropped six of nine decisions between mid-September and early October.
“With so many freshmen and sophomores on the floor a year ago, I'm thinking they learned from all of those ups and downs, and now there's a greater desire for consistency” she said. “All my teams have gotten along incredibly well, but I'm seeing a better chemistry on the court this season and that's a big factor with only 11 healthy players.”
This weekend's trip is the start of a 10-match road swing to start the season, as the Wildcats won't play their first home match until the night of Friday, Sept. 21 vs. Tarleton State. ACU played its first nine on the road in 2011 and 2010, but opened at home on Sept. 4 near the start of the 2009 season.
Nine of ACU's 12 home matches take place during the month of October, but have none scheduled for November's crunch time.
