ABILENE – Currently in the midst of a two-match losing streak, the Abilene Christian volleyball team looks to reverse its fortunes this week against Lone Star Conference rivals Texas Woman's, Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
ACU went 4-2 against these three schools last year with five of the six matches being decided in five sets.
The Wildcats (4-8, 1-3 LSC) lost at Moody Coliseum last weekend to Tarleton State and #11 Angelo State, but can still salvage the final match of their homestand Tuesday at 7 p.m. against a Texas Woman's (10-3, 4-1 LSC) squad that had won four straight before falling, 3-1, at No. 6 West Texas A&M.
The Pioneers are led by the trio of Viktorija Jablonska, Chloe' Tate and Marciela Alves. Each of these players has an attack percentage above .260 and rank among their team's leading blockers. Jablonska also is the no. 3 scorer in the conference with 182.5 points, while Tate ranks fifth in blocks (1.02) and sixth in hitting (.305).
Sara Oxford, who led the Wildcats with 22.5 points last weekend, ranks eighth in the conference in points (3.59 per set) and is sixth in kills (3.21). Freshman setter
Sarah Siemens is fourth with 9.68 assists per set.
ACU's matches vs. the Cardinals (5-7, 2-2 LSC) and Javelinas (6-6, 0-4 LSC) will both take place on the road, where the Wildcats are 4-6 so far this season. Four of those defeats, however, were to nationally ranked opponents from Tampa, Cal State San Bernardino, Metro State and West Texas.
The Cardinals, similar to ACU, are so far winless at home after losing their first conference games to the Pioneers and Texas A&M-Commerce, but they did rebound last weekend in winning at both Midwestern State and Cameron. Earlier in the year, Incarnate Word lost all four of its matches at a tournament hosted in Golden, Colo., before capturing three of four contests at Tarleton State.
UIW doesn't have many players ranked among the conference's offensive leaders, but Lydia Werchan is tops in digs with 5.35 per set and is tied for sixth with 14 service aces.
The Javelinas began their 2012 season on fire in racing out to a 5-0 start but have since lost six of their last seven. Their losses have come vs. conference foes Texas Woman's, Commerce, Midwestern and Cameron, as well as No. 7 Washburn and Rockhurst.
Despite its recent woes, the Javelinas' roster is still dotted with a number of playmakers including Dedra Brown, Ali Insell, Bethany Friesenhahn and Sarah Fountain. Brown is No. 2 in the LSC in kills and sixth in points; Insell is seventh in digs, Friesenhahn fourth in blocks, and Fountain sixth in digs.
ACU's matches at Incarnate Word and Kingsville begin at 7 and 1 p.m., respectively.
