ABILENE - Incarnate Word hit .333 in the fifth set behind 10 kills to hold off a late Wildcat charge and defeat Abilene Christian volleyball, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at Moody Coliseum by scores of 27-25, 25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 15-9.
The loss was the Wildcats' sixth in five sets this season - all against Southland Conference opposition - dropping them to 4-22 overall and 2-10 vs. the league. The Cardinals improved to 8-17 and 4-8 with half of their conference wins coming against the Wildcats.
After dominating both sides of the net in its 10-point, game-two victory, Incarnate Word appeared primed for the sweep by jumping out to an early lead. However, the Wildcats never trailed by more than three points and battled back to take their first lead at 18-17 on consecutive errors by the Cardinals' Bryaunea Hall and Shaina Garza - the second coming on block by
Jennifer Loerch and
Neely Borger.
The Cardinals rallied to tie the score three times down the stretch, but after an ace by Meaghan Patterson made it a 23-23 game, the Wildcats called for a timeout and came out of the break with consecutive kills from
Taylor Nix and
Lexi Mercier.
ACU hit .343 in winning game three, and in game four, benefitted from 10 attack errors by the Cardinals as the Wildcats outhit them, .146 to .083.
A block by Mercier and
Dorothy Swanson gave the Wildcats their first lead of game four at 8-7 and eventually they'd take their largest lead of the afternoon at 13-9 on Garza's attack error. From there, however, UIW would come back to tie the score at 13-13, and again at 15- and 16-all.
Loerch would break the deadlock with another kill that kickstarted a crucial 7-3 run that provided ACU with its second four-point cushion of the match at 23-19. Swanson and Nix also scored two points each during this stretch.
UIW made one final push to end the match in four games and got to within a point at 23-22 on an error by Mercier. Loerch responded with one of her team-high 14 kills to bring the game to match point, and the Wildcats won it on an attacking error by Sarea Alexander.
Unfortunately for ACU in game five, there would not be another recovery from an early deficit as the Cardinals started the decisive set with three consecutive kills - two of which were by Angelique Vidaurri, who led all players with 26.5 points.
The Wildcats climbed to within a point at 5-4 on a kill from Loerch, but then UIW scored the next three points sending ACU into a timeout. The home team would not get closer than two point the rest of the way as the Cardinals finished on a 6-2 run with the last point coming on a Nix attack error.
UIW outhit ACU for the match .235 to .212 and received 60 assists plus two service aces from setter Madison Williams. She also recorded 18 of her team's 81 digs.
Vidaurri hit .276 and was complimented offensively by Garza's 15 kills (.258) and 13 kills from Brittani Dear (.250).
The Cardinal defense blocked 5.0 shots to 8.0 for the Wildcats, who were led by Borger's five (one solo).
The Wildcats return to action next Thursday with at 7 p.m. home match vs. McNeese.
