Box Score PHOENIX, Ariz. - In its first match in two weeks, the Abilene Christian volleyball team suffered a 3-1 defeat at Grand Canyon University, which also is in its first year as NCAA D-I member of the WAC Conference.
The Wildcats (6-17) won the first game 25-18, but lost the next three to the Antelopes (11-19) by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-19.
ACU used a 10-3 run near the start of game one to dig its way out of a 5-1 hole and was helped along the way by consecutive Antelope errors that turned the momentum in the Wildcats' favor. Three straight kills from
Dorothy Swanson,
Jennifer Loerch and
Neely Borger then followed to give ACU an 11-8 advantage.
Several possessions later, the Wildcats were still holding onto a four-point lead at 15-11 before taking off on a game-deciding 8-1 run in which Loerch recorded three of her 13 kills and
Madison Hoover and
Sarah Siemens both provided service aces.
The Antelopes charged back a final time with five straight points to cut their deficit in half, but the Wildcats responded with back-to-back points from Borger. The redshirt junior first combined on a block with Swanson before delivering the game-winning kill.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, GCU jumped out to insurmountable leads of seven and 12 points, respectively, early in games two and three to take a 2-1 lead.
Game four appeared to follow the same narrative at the onset as the Antelopes jumped out to an 8-1 lead, but the Wildcats clawed all the way back to tie the set at 10-10. Southland honorable mention
Lexi Mercier and Siemens got things rolling with consecutive blocks. Siemens followed with one of her five kills, and GCU then made four-straight attacking errors.
But the Antelopes did not stay down for long as they followed a Wildcat error with kills from Lanie Muys, Kristen Johannsen and Shannon Dugan - the last of which gave them a 14-10 lead and forced ACU into a timeout. Down the stretch, the Wildcats could only get as close as three points (19-16) and GCU finished the game and match by winning six of the final nine possessions.
Johannsen won the match for Grand Grand Canyon with her third solo block. Dugan led all players with 21 kills, while Muys was second with 18 and hit .516 overall.
The Wildcats return to action tomorrow with their final match of the 2013 season vs. Incarnate Word. The Cardinals won their first two matches vs. ACU earlier this season by matching 3-0 scores.
