THIBODAUX, La. – Negative offensive showings in sets one and five bookended an uneven performance for the Abilene Christian volleyball team Friday night at Nicholls' Stopher Gym, where the Colonels held on for a 3-2 victory by scores of 25-12, 25-22, 21-25, 16-25 and 15-8.
Nicholls was positively desperate for a win of any kind as the Colonels entered tonight's match 2-17 overall and winless vs. the Southland Conference at 0-6. The Wildcats too were determined to get back on track after falling at McNeese, 3-1, less than 24 hours earlier, which dropped them to 6-11 and 2-3.
Unfortunately, that conviction was all but absent from the first set with Nicholls rolling out to a 10-0 lead behind five service aces from setter Jade Piper (42 assists, 13 digs).
The Wildcats would improve gradually as the match progressed and had a solid comeback in set three to stave off the sweep. With the visitors trailing by three points, Nicholls committed three consecutive errors that knotted the score at 18-18 and soon the Wildcats would pull ahead for good on a kill from sophomore
Marybeth Sandercox (7K, 2BA).
Junior setter
Kendall Bosse then dropped in two of her team high three service aces to bring the Wildcats to game point, and freshman
Katelyn Mueller (12K) pulled ACU back into the match with her fourth kill of the set.
Set four was even more impressive for the Wildcats offensively as they hit .448 with 13 kills and zero attacking errors. ACU started in a four-point hole at 7-4, but a 7-0 run put them ahead for good with junior
Jacey Smith dealing two of the team's eight aces, and Bosse and junior
Lauren Walker combining for a huge block on Imanie Williams.
Another kill from Mueller capped the run, which put ACU ahead by four points at 11-7. Then after Nicholls closed to within three at 16-13, the Wildcats set off on a set-deciding 7-1 run that ensured a 2-2 tie.
With the Wildcats firing on all cylinders in the fourth set, the expectation was to see that continue well into the finale.
Alas, it was not to be.
Nicholls grabbed the lead after three rallies, and following an attack error by Emily Weimer that made it a 7-6 game, the Colonels rebounded with a match-ending 8-2 run while once again holding the Wildcats to a negative attack percentage of -.056 (3-for-18 with four errors).
ACU finished the match with a .113 attack percentage (41-for-141 with 25 errors) and was deeply hurt by 18 service and 10 return errors. Nicholls, by comparison, hit .186 (49-for-140 with 23 errors) with 13 service errors.
Mueller and Walker were the Wildcats' leading point scorers with 14.5 and 14.0 points, respectively. Walker was second to Mueller with 11 kills and added four block assists to tie Bosse (35 assists, 14 digs) for the team lead.
Libero
Amanda Chapa dug out 17 attacks as ACU finished with 55 to 69 for the Colonels, who were led by Emily Venable's 21.
Nicholls' leading strikers were Stephanie Tobison with 13 kills (15.5 points) and Sydney Lerille (10K, .381).
ACU's next match is a week from Saturday at Houston Baptist. Match time is 1 p.m.
