ABILENE - A 9-4 run late in game five snapped a 5-5 tie and gave Abilene Christian Volleyball the distance it needed to put away perennial Southland Conference favorite Stephen F. Austin for the first time since joining the league, 3-2, before a raucous crowd Thursday night at Moody Coliseum.
The Wildcats (6-17) remain undefeated at home at 4-0, and more importantly they're 5-3 vs. the Southland Conference at the halfway point. The Ladyjacks, meanwhile, fell to 12-8 and 5-2 after suffering their first loss to the Wildcats since Oct. 1, 1983.Â
ACU won by scores of 17-25, 25-23, 25-17, 21-25 and 15-12, and if not for a slow start in game one, would have posted its second-highest attacking percentage of the season at .261 as the Wildcats combined for 58 kills on 153 attempts in games two through four. The defense also was exceptional tonight, holding SFA to a .169 attacking percentage behind a season-high 93 digs and 7.5 team blocks.
This was a true team win for the Wildcats as setter
Kendall Bosse distributed 50 assists to five different players, none of whom rang up more than 16 kills. Sophomore outside hitter
Jacey Smith led her team with 18.5 points on 16 kills and three block assists, while the middle blocking tandem of
Lexi Mercier and
Lauren Walker combined for 26 kills on 55 attempts (.345). Freshman
Marybeth Sandercox was outstanding as well, delivering 12 kills on 27 tries for a .333 attack percentage.
Bosse also helped on defense, coming through with 20 digs and three block assists. Freshman libero
Amanda Chapa had the most digs with 27, but senior
Dorothy Swanson was credited with 18 and
Mikai Brown came off the bench to provide 13 digs and one of two Wildcat aces.
With the score tied at 5-5 in the decisive set, the Wildcats began to create some space in the scoring column thanks to an accurate attack that accounted for eight kills and just two errors (.273). ACU broke the deadlock with consecutive kills from Smith and
Corinne Grandcolas, and then Mercier sent her team into the break with her 12th and final kill of the night that made it an 8-6 game.Â
After the teams switched sides, ACU scored four of the next five points which forced SFA to burn a timeout and the Wildcats maintained their five-point advantage through the next four possessions.Â
Things, however, started to get a bit tense with the Wildcats sitting at match point as the Ladyjacks rattled off three consecutive points, scoring on kills from Abby McIntyre and Peyton Redmon and a solo block from Justice Walker. But after getting her team to within two points of the lead, Haley Coleman overhit her service for the Ladyjacks' fifth error that countered their four aces.
McIntyre led SFA with 17 kills and 18 points followed by Walker with 14 (10 kills, 4 blocks) and Danae Daron (11 kills, .474).
The Wildcats return to action Saturday at 1 p.m. vs. Sam Houston State, which was off this evening and comes into Moody with overall and conference records of 9-10 and 3-3.
