DENTON, Texas - Abilene Christian volleyball snapped a season-opening eight-match losing streak and placed third of four teams at North Texas' Mean Green Classic Saturday after rallying from a set down to defeat Jackson State, 3-1.
The Wildcats (1-8) fell 25-21 to the winless Tigers (0-11) in set one following a four-set loss earlier in the day to Utah Valley (3-7), but in set two they scored the final four points to escape with a 25-20 triumph. ACU never lost the lead in winning set three, 25-12, and fended off a late Tiger rally in set four to win 25-23.
Jackson State came close to sending the match to a fifth set after taking off on a 5-1 run that tied the set at 23-23. ACU, however, countered with match-clinching back-to-back blocks from senior
Neely Borger and teammates
Rachel Riley and
Lexi Mercier.
Borger played a role on six blocks as the Wildcats finished with 10. Mercier and junior setter
Sarah Siemens were credited with four block assists in addition to leading a sharp offensive attack that resulted in a .307 hitting percentage.
Mercier rang up a team-high 13 kills on 23 attempts (.348), while Siemens snuck in seven kills on 12 attempts (.583). Siemens also had 31 assists, delivered a pair of service aces and dug out three attacks.
Freshman
Stephanie Schoelman hit .350 in finishing the match with 11 kills, two of which came on the Wildcats' final four possessions of the second set as she alternated points with junior outside hitter Jennie Loerch.
Defensively, ACU limited Jackson State to a .165 hitting percentage and dug out 33 attacks - led by
Madison Hoover's 14 digs - to go along with the 10.0 blocks.
In the first match of Saturday's doubleheader, the Wolverines of Utah Valley held back the Wildcats, 3-1, winning by scores of 25-9, 24-26, 26-24 and 25-17. The Wildcats recorded negative hitting percentages in sets one and two and finished the match with as many kills (31) as errors on 121 attempts (.000).
Utah Valley was equally error prone in set two, which saw the Wildcats win five of the final six points after the Wolverines went ahead 23-21. Attack errors by Utah Valley's Kalani Norris and Lauren Bakker tied the score at 23-23. UVU then called a time out and took a one-point lead on one of Bakker's 11 kills.
Schoelmen scored the following two points on assists from Siemens and
Emily Adkins. The Wildcats then won the set after Bakker committed one of her seven errors.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they let a sizeable late lead get away from them in game three as the Wolverines scored the final six points after trailing 24-20. UVU received three blocks, two kills and a service ace during this remarkable stretch, and never once trailed in during its game-four victory.
The Wildcats return to action Tuesday at TCU before concluding tournament season next weekend at Texas Tech, where they'll face Air Force and Weber State in addition to the host Red Raiders.
ACU and Texas Tech split a home-and-home series in 2013.
