HOUSTON - Abilene Christian volleyball dropped a razor-close three-set decision Monday night at Houston Baptist's Sharp Gym with the Huskies prevaling by scores of 25-21, 26-24 and 25-23. The Wildcats ended their three-match road trip at 1-2 with seven of nine sets decided by two points.
ACU (5-17, 4-3 Southland) hit .194 for the match with four individuals posting attack percentages well above .275. Sophomore outside hitter
Jacey Smith led the Wildcats with 10 kills (.294), freshman
Marybeth Sandercox (.364) scored eight points on five kills and three blocks (one solo), while the middle blocker combination of senior
Lexi Mercier (.308) and
Lauren Walker (.294) collected 14 kills on 30 attempts and had a hand in nine of the team's 10 blocks.
The Huskies blocked eight shots and hit a few percentage points lower than the Wildcats (.191), but proved to be a little better at the service line, where they finished with five aces and six errors. By comparison, the Wildcats had their three aces countered by 10 service errors.
Houston Baptist won game one on a Wildcat service error and climbed into the lead midway through the contest thanks to a 6-2 run that snapped a 13-13 tie. And then the Huskies flipped the switch late in game two, scoring the final four points after the Wildcats reached match point at 24-22 following a HBU miscue.
ACU was the first to reach 20 points in game three, grabbing a 20-17 lead on a block from Walker and Sandercox, but the Huskies were quick to respond, tying the score twice at 22-22 (kill from Kayla Armer) and 23-23 (service error). From there Houston Baptist took the lead for good on a kill by Melissa Fuchs and improved to 14-8 (5-1 Southland) on the season following an attack error by the Wildcats.Â
Fuchs led all players tonight with 14.5 points, delivering 14 kills with a .206 attack percentage.Â
The Wildcats return home to Moody Coliseum later this week with matches vs. Stephen F. Austin Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and Sam Houston State Saturday at 1 p.m.
