LUBBOCK – Talk to any of the coaches at Abilene Christian and it's very likely they once had – or still do have – a connection to Texas Tech or life in the Panhandle.
Bobby Reeves coached here for seven season and counted his daughter-in-law / associate head coach,
Ashley Reeves, as one of his most decorated players. ACU assistant
Greg Evans also was a baseball and softball assistant for both Larry and Shannon Hays with the latter previously serving the Wildcats as their athletics director and men's basketball coach.
Legendary Lady Raider head coach Marsha Sharp was
Julie Goodenough's idol and led her team to the NCAA Championship (1992-93) the same season Goodenough started her distinguished career at Lubbock Christian. LCU also was the home of NAIA All-America-turned-ACU baseball coach Brit Bonneau.
Track and field coach
Lance Bingham grew up in nearby Meadow and graduated from Texas Tech after starting his athletic career at South Plains, but the strongest ties between this campus community and ACU Athletics likely belong to volleyball's
Angela Mooney.
Mooney was a four-year letter winner for the Red Raiders, following in the footsteps of her parents – both Texas Tech athletes – and older sister, Anne, who also played volleyball. And before she reached the limelight of the Big XII, Mooney played high school sports just five minutes down the road at Monterey.
Because of the appreciation she has for her hometown – and vice versa – there was a nice swath of purple caps and shirts worn by family, friends, former coaches and players, and campers strewn across the red seats Monday night at United Supermarkets Arena. 2016 Frenship High School graduate
Marybeth Sandercox also brought a cheering section, and the Wildcats came into the match feeling excited.
"There wasn't at all a sense of nervousness," said Mooney, who was making just her second coaching appearance in Lubbock and first since 2004 with UTEP. "We felt comfortable … it was nice seeing everyone … and earlier today we got in a great serve and pass. So we really thought we'd come out different than we did."
But the unwavering support coming friends and family, which included aunts and uncles and siblings, simply could not spark the Wildcats past the Red Raiders (5-1) who won by scores of 25-12, 25-20 and 25-20.
The loss ended a stretch of four matches in four days for the Wildcats (1-6), who began their Labor Day weekend in Boulder, battling the likes of Wake Forest, Rice and Colorado. They now only have two days to regroup in Abilene before heading to Las Cruces, N.M. and the Borderland Invitational.
There were noticeable bright spots and game victories to speak of in Colorado, but tonight it was a challenge for the Wildcats to start strong. In fact, their first lead was not attained until the first possession of game three – and after going up 4-2, the Red Raiders responded with a 6-1 run that forced ACU into a timeout.
The Wildcats again made some noise at the end, climbing to within four points at 23-19 before an attack error and kill from Emily Hill bottled up the game and match.
"We were feeling good coming out of those first three matches (in Colorado)," said Mooney. "We played high-level volleyball against some really good teams, and now I think there's a little bit of disappointment after playing so tough. Tonight we played a way we didn't want to play. It was not our style of play, nor did it meet our expectations.
"We're ready to get back in the gym on Wednesday and prepare for this weekend at New Mexico State and UTEP. We'll start with a lot of serve and pass and individual work, and then Thursday we'll get into more team / six-man rotation workouts. Really it's just going to be about refocusing and getting back our confidence to execute the things that we want to."
Freshman
Katelyn Mueller was ACU's leading attacker with nine kills, and junior
Jacey Smith tallied 7.5 points on five kills and 5.5 block assists along with nine digs.
Sophomore libero
Amanda Chapa dug out the most attacks with 14 and junior setter
Kendall Bosse had 22 assists.
Chandler Atwood paced the Red Raiders with 12 points on 12 kills. Hill was second with 11 points, and Katy Keenan tallied 10 points with eight kills, two blocks and an ace.
