Box Score
PHOENIX, Ariz. - Freshman
Lexi Mercier scored 15.5 points and redshirt junior
Neely Borger chipped in 12.0 during the Wildcats' 3-0 loss to the Cardinals of Incarnate Word Saturday night at Grand Canyon University. UIW edged the Wildcats in all three games by scores of 27-25, 30-28 and 25-23.
The match featured 11 lead changes and 25 tie scores.
With the loss, ACU finished its season as a D-I program at 6-18, while the Cardinals improved to 13-12. Three of their wins this season were against the Wildcats.
ACU was on the ropes late in game one, trailing 23-19, but went on a 5-0 run that was helped along by three Cardinal attacking errors. The Wildcats also received a key block from Borger and
Jennifer Loerch during this stretch, and went up 25-24 on a kill from
Corrie Reeder.
But the offense stalled afterward and the Cardinals finished the game on a 3-0 run with two points coming from Shaina Garza via kill and a service ace that was one of seven for UIW.
The Cardinals' continued to roll right into game two in taking an 8-1 lead, but the Wildcats again would come roaring back to tie the score at 12-12 on one of Mercier's 13 kills. Soon afterward, however, UIW went back up by four points at 18-14 only to see the Wildcats once more rally to tie the game at 19-19 thanks to three consecutive points from Mercier - one on a kill and the other two on blocks with Reeder and freshman
Dorothy Swanson.
From there, the score would be tied several more times at every single point from 21 through 28. But after the Wildcats knotted the score a final time, UIW received a kill from Brittani Dear - one of her 15 - followed by a ball-handling error called on sophomore setter
Sarah Siemens.
ACU led most of the way in game three, but by never more than four points, which allowed the Cardinals to mount a speedy final comeback during the home stretch.
Loerch was charged with an error with the Wildcats ahead 22-20 and then the Cardinals took the lead on consecutive kills from Elizabeth Soukup and Garza. On the next touch, Taylor McClelland made a service error that tied the score at 23-23, but ACU gave the game right back with two more attacking errors.
ACU hit .048 in game three and .148 for the match. UIW was not much better in finishing the night with a .175 hitting percentage led by Dear's 15 kills and 11 from Garza.
The Cardinals' Southland Conference honorable mention Angelique Vidaurri was held to -.100 hitting as she made six errors on 20 attempts with four kills.
In addition to blocking 7.0 shots, ACU's defense also dug out 78 attacks. Senior
Caley Johnson led her team in this category with 24, while classmate
Madelyn Robinett had 16 plus two assists and an ace.
With five block assists vs. the Cardinals, Mercier finished her first season with 128 total blocks and 1.44 per set average that led the Southland Conference.
