Smith, Chapa named to Owls Classic All-Tournament Team

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Abilene Christian volleyball didn't get the results it wanted Saturday, falling 3-0 to Tulane and 3-1 to Florida Gulf Coast at the FAU Arena, however, both sophomore outside hitter Jacey Smith and freshman libero Amanda Chapa were voted to the Owls Classic All-Tournament team in recognition of their individual efforts over the past four matches.

Smith played in all 16 sets and averaged 2.56 kills and 1.31 digs per set, while Chapa averaged 3.69 digs per set with 19 coming in the tournament finale vs. FGCU. Smith posted only six kills vs. the Eagles but had 12 vs. FAU, 13 against UTRGV and 10 earlier today vs. Tulane.

Additional standouts from this afternoon's matches included junior outside hitter Corinne Grandcolas, who scored 16 points on 15 kills and two block assists, and sophomore middle blocker Lauren Walker, who ripped 13 kills and was part of four blocks as ACU finished with 15 stuff at the net. 

Senior middle blocker Lexi Mercier had the most blocks today with 10, and on the offensive side, sophomore setter Kendall Bosse averaged 5.71 assists per set.

The Wildcats remain on the road next weekend as they open Southland Confernece play at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Sept. 22) and Incarnate Word (Sept. 24). Match times are 6:30 p.m. and 11 a.m.

Match 1 Recap - Tulane 3, ACU 0
ACU was swept by the Green Wave by scores of 25-13, 25-23, 25-15 as Tulane improved to 8-4 on the season.

The Green Wave hit .240 as a team led by Dayna Kerns' nine kills and 10.5 points, while the Wildcats received 10 kills from Jacey Smith and nine from Corinne Grandcolas.  

ACU started game two down 4-0 but came back to tie the score four times, including twice down the stretch at 19-19 (attack error) and 22-22 (block by Kendall Bosse and Lexi Mercier). Afterward, Tulane benefited from an ACU service error followed by a kill from Sarah Ray to reach match point. The Wildcats then scored their final point on a block from Mercier and Smith, but the Green Wave won on a swing from Kern.

Tulane took control of game three with a 5-0 run in the early goings and finished the contest on a 7-1 run as ACU was never able to get closer than two points of the lead.  

Match 2 Recap - FGCU 3, ACU 1
The Wildcats displayed some resiliency, fighting back from a 2-0 deficit with a 25-20 win in game three over FGCU, but their momentum would not last into game four as the Eagles closed the match with a decisive 25-16 victory.

ACU began game four up 2-0, but the tournament champion Eagles then scored 12 of the next 16 points in building a 12-6 lead and later took off on a 7-0 run to place the match largely out of reach followed by a set-closing 4-1 run during which FGCU received three of 13 kills from Giovanna Bogiotti.

In game three, the Wildcats battled back from a slight 9-7 deficit with an 8-2 run that put them ahead for good at 15-11. The Eagles, however, would get back to within three points at 22-19 on a 5-0 run only to stymie themselves with a Bogiotti attack error. From there, the Wildcats allowed just one more point but finished with back-to-back kills from Kendall Bosse and Corinne Grandcolas.

Jacey Smith again was ACU's leading scorer with 9.5 points (six kills, two aces) followed closely by Lauren Walker (9.0 points) who registered eight kills.

Amanda Chapa also had two of ACU's six aces in addition to her 19 digs.

FGCU's Amanda Carroll, who earned All-Tournament MVP honors, collected 12 kills vs. the Wildcats and Leigh Pudwill had 11 for the 11-2 Eagles.