Incarnate Word Live Stats
ABILENE – The Abilene Christian volleyball team will play host to its annual Dig Pink Game on Homecoming Saturday at 7 p.m. vs. the Cardinals of Incarnate Word. As part of the Wildcats' efforts to further breast cancer awareness, the team will be auctioning off a pink autographed volleyball, wearing pink warm-up t-shirts, and selling pink cupcakes with all proceeds going to support the
Side-Out Foundation.
ACU Athletics also will be collecting donations in between games two and three and giving $1 for every ticket sold to the foundation, which is a support and advocacy organization dedicated to making a significant and identifiable difference in the lives of breast cancer patients and their families. The foundation does this by supporting clinical trials, increasing patient support services and educating communities.
In 2012, over 1,000 teams from the college, high school and middle school ranks raised over $1.1 million in for the Side-Out Foundation's Dig Pink Rally. Notre Dame was the top fundraiser among all universities, pulling in $10,048.00.
As an added attraction to Saturday's match, the ACU men's and women's basketball teams will be outside Moody Coliseum from 6 to 7 p.m. cooking up free barbecue hot dogs and handing out cold sodas. Head coaches
Joe Golding and
Julie Goodenough will be in attendance along with their entire rosters, which feature over 20 new student-athletes and assistant coaches.
ACU volleyball enters this week with an overall record of 5-11 and 1-7 mark vs. the Southland Conference after losing two tough matches to start its three-match homestand vs. Lamar and Sam Houston State. The Wildcats gave the Bearkats all they could handle through five sets, but ultimately lost the match by scores of 25-23, 16-25, 25-27, 26-24 and 15-12.
Sophomore
Jennifer Loerch led the ACU attack with 18 kills, while freshmen
Lexi Mercier and
Erica Lambert each contributed 12. ACU also dug out 92 of 214 attacks and outblocked the Bearkats, 12.0-2.0, with junior
Neely Borger taking in part in six of those.
ACU head coach Kellen Mock earlier this week said it was frustrating not to beat Sam Houston, but was proud to see her team battle back time and time again vs. one of the best teams in the Southland Conference.
"Our kids are working harder than they ever have before," she said, "and it was great to see us right there with Sam Houston at the end of every set. That was a very good, veteran-heavy team we faced here Saturday with a senior setter and junior outside hitter, who know how to win at the Division I level. And every time we pushed them, they would find a way to rise up."
The Cardinals come to Moody Coliseum as winners of three of their last four and sporting overall and conference records of 8-9 and 3-5. After starting its year at 4-2, which included a 3-2 win over Texas Tech, UIW stumbled toward the end of September with four straight losses – two of which were to former Lone Star Conference rivals Angelo State (L, 1-3) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (L, 1-3).
The following week, however, UIW would shut out Kingsville in their rematch and earn a pair of conference wins over Houston Baptist (W, 3-1) and Sam Houston State (W, 3-2). The Cardinals' attempt to extend their winning streak to four ended with a three-set loss to Lamar.
"This is another opponent with very experienced players at key positions, and which has beat some good teams along the way," said Mock. "We are going to have to do a better job of playing our very best volleyball in order to beat them."
UIW is one of the league's better-hitting teams with a .178 average and 12.55 kills per set as sophomore outside hitter Angelique Vidaurri leads the way with 191 kills (3.08 per set). She is also ranked among the league's leading blockers (0.79 per set) along with teammate Meaghan Patterson (1.02).
But the best overall block in the conference still belongs to ACU with 2.42 per set as Mercier leads all players with a 1.57 per set average.
Other Wildcats ranked among the conference's top-15 players are Loerch (3.2 kills per set), setter
Sarah Siemens (8.32 assists per set) and libero
Madison Hoover (4.43 digs per set).
Saturday's match is the first of three meetings scheduled for this fall between the Wildcats and Cardinals. The two sides will next meet on Friday, Nov. 8 at UIW and again at Grand Canyon University on Nov. 23.
ACU and UIW have been playing one another since 1984 with the Wildcats firmly in control of the all-time series, 16-3. The Cardinals didn't earn their first win over ACU until 2008, but have split the last two season series when both were members of the Lone Star Conference.
The Wildcats were swept by UIW last year on the road, but then returned the favor at Moody Coliseum a month later.
