LARAMIE, Wyo. – Non-conference wins have been a rarity for ACU volleyball and road victories positively non-existence since the program's arrival into DI athletics, so forgive the Wildcats if they happened to celebrate a little too hard following Saturday's 3-1 win at Wyoming.
Each set was an absolute grind and came against the backdrop of an emotional reunion as the returners battled a team now coached by former ACU assistant Breann Nesselhuf. Several Wildcats spoke openly of their admiration for Nesselhuf going into this weekend's
Rumble in the Rockies, and even though the Cowgirls lost, Nesselhuf had to have felt somewhat satisfied seeing her old club revel in its first non-conference road win since Oct. 19 of 2010 (3-0 at Texas Permian Basin).
ACU only has won seven non-conference matches since 2013 and none of those were on the road or vs. the tournament host. The Wildcats scored four quality wins in the 2013 preseason, including those against Texas Tech and Louisiana Tech, but that number dropped to two the following year, and then they went winless in 2015 non-conference play. The 2016 preseason was equally brutal as their lone victory prior to Southland play was a 3-2 home win vs. UT Arlington.
So the monkey is off ACU's back for now, but it did not go willingly as the Cowgirls and Wildcats staged an epic Rocky Mountain high drama for the 376 in attendance at the UniWyo Sports Complex. There were 30 tie scores in addition to 16 lead changes during a two-hour battle in which ACU escaped by the slimmest of margins: 25-23, 27-29, 25-21 and 25-23.
Neither side led by more than two points in game four and they were tied all the way up to 23-23 before ACU concluded the match with defensive and offensive points. Juniors
Jacey Smith and
Lauren Walker teamed up for the Wildcats' 12th block of the contest to bring their team to match point, and then Smith hammered home the clincher to tie Walker and freshman
Katelyn Mueller for the team lead with 12 kills.
Head coach
Angela Mooney utilized only one substitute vs. the Cowgirls, which resulted in 105 total attacks for combination of Mueller (33), Smith (41) and Walker (41). Mueller and Smith also dealt a pair of service aces to finish with 14.5 and 16.0 points, respectively, while Walker was part of six block assists.
Junior setter
Kendall Bosse was credited with 42 of the team's 45 assists and libero
Amanda Chapa dug out 21 attacks, leading a defense that limited Wyoming to a .156 attack percentage. The Cowgirls repeatedly shot themselves in the foot at the service line as well, committing 12 service errors that spoiled a 20-kill (.436) performance from Tara Traphagan.
It was unfortunate the Wildcats couldn't have enjoyed this victory longer as they went right back to work against South Dakota, which earned its first victory of the season after defeating ACU in three sets: 25-22, 25-20 and 25-23.
Mueller again registered a dozen kills, but Smith and Walker only combined for 11 on 44 attempts while sophomore
Marybeth Sandercox was limited to five kills on 26 attempts. The Wildcats also canceled out their six aces with six service errors, and hit just .094 in the third set after starting the game hitting at a .217 clip.
South Dakota hit .203 for the match led by Hayley Dotseth and Rachel Schmidt, who combined for 28.5 points. This duo helped put the game away by combining for 11 of the team's 18 kills in the third set.
The Wildcats continue their tour of the Rocky Mountains next weekend with three matches at Colorado's Omni Invitational. Opposition includes teams from Rice and Wake Forest in addition to the host Buffaloes. From there the Wildcats will stop at Mooney's alma mater Texas Tech for a 6 p.m. Labor Day match vs. the Red Raiders.
