NATCHITOCHES, La. – Sophomore outside
Marybeth Sandercox totaled 11 points on nine kills and four blocks and junior setter
Kendall Bosse led ACU on a 15-0 run from the service line during the Wildcats' 3-1 comeback win Saturday at Northwestern State.
The Wildcats won by scores of 15-25, 25-16, 25-22 and 25-22. Bosse delivered two aces during ACU's incredible second set rally, which flipped a 6-6 tie in to a 21-6 lead. That stretch of play additionally featured nine Lady Demon attack errors, a bad set and ball-handling error, plus two Wildcat kills (from Sandercox and
Lorin McNeil) and a block (McNeil and
Katelyn Mueller).
ACU then bounced back from several five-point deficits in set three.
Mikai Brown snapped a 21-21 tie with one of the Wildcats' seven service aces and Bosse added to the lead with a kill that forced Northwestern State into a timeout.
Bosse scored 8.5 points on two aces, six kills (.857) and a block assist to go along with her nine digs and 35 assists.
"Kendall had a great day today," said head coach
Angela Mooney. "She made great choices with her distribution to our hitters. We've also been working on getting her going offensively, and she was able to execute her dump at the right times. It was great to see her find that success today."
The two sides exchanged the final four points following the Lady Demons' third-set timeout with kills by
Jacey Smith (11K) and Bosse canceling out those from Madeline Drake (9K, .600) and Alexis Warren (5K).
Northwestern State again enjoyed several leads in the fourth set and was the first to reach 20 points at 20-17. From there ACU took off on a 5-1 run – sparked by three kills from sophomore
Courtney Miller - that gave the Wildcats their first lead at 22-21.
"Courtney came in late in the match and added some big kills at important times towards the end of set four," said Mooney. "Marybeth (9K, 11 pts.) also had a good match. She hit the ball with power and really made good choices offensively."
The Lady Demons tied the fourth-set score once more at 22-22 on a kill from Charli Fouts, but Miller and Bosse came up with the Wildcats' sixth block, bringing the Wildcats' to match point, and Smith sealed the victory with a service ace.
"Today's win was a great win on the road for our program," said Mooney. "It wasn't exactly a pretty match for either team but we continued to work hard, make adjustments and improve throughout the match. Im proud of our team and the way they competed and the grit they had about themselves."
ACU has won its last four decisions vs. the Lady Demons in improving to 9-14 overall and 5-6 within the Southland Conference, while Northwestern State's records dropped to 13-14 and 8-4. The victory also keeps the Wildcats a half game ahead of 4-8 New Orleans and Incarnate Word for the eighth and final spot in the conference tournament.
The Wildcats continue their road swing Tuesday with a Halloween night match at third-place Sam Houston State (13-11, 9-2). The Bearkats defeated ACU at Moody Coliseum earlier this season as part of a 7-0 conference start, but lost both of its road matches this weekend to Northwestern State and Central Arkansas.
