ABILENE – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-18, 6-6 Southland) volleyball avenged an earlier season loss to the Wildcats Saturday afternoon at the Dugan Wellness Center, edging the Wildcats in all three sets by scores of 25-23, 25-22, 25-23. Today's loss marked the first time all season Abilene Christian (12-12, 9-3 Southland) had been swept in Southland Conference play, spanning 12 matches. It was also the Wildcats' first 3-0 loss since falling to Texas Tech back on Aug. 28.
The team statistics in a match as close as this (24 ties, eight lead changes) were nearly identical. The Wildcats hit at a .172 clip, and the Islanders .174. Both teams also recorded five aces and dug out 47 of the other team's attacks, while ACU had two more blocks than Corpus Christi, 9-7, led by senior middle blocker
Lauren Walker's seven rejections.
Walker also contributed eight kills in leading the Wildcats with 11.5 points, and classmate / outside hitter
Jacey Smith was right behind her with 10 points (6K, two aces, four blocks).
Neither team led by more than three points in the first set, but after the Wildcats tied the score a final time at 22-22 on a block by Walker and senior setter
Kendall Bosse (25 assists, 3 kills, 3 blocks, ace) the Islanders scored three of the last four points with kills coming from Chloe Simon (8K) and Rachel Young (12K).
Sets two and three featured impressive comebacks by the Islanders. In the second set, they used a 12-4 run to erase an eight-point deficit and tie the score at 15-15, and then after the Wildcats went ahead by three (18-15), Corpus Christi finished on a 10-4 outburst during which it registered three service aces, four kills and two blocks.
ACU again saw two late leads fizzle down the stretch in the third set. An 18-14 Wildcat advantage was wiped out by a 4-0 Islander run capped by an Angel Felan ace, and after the visitors grabbed a 20-18 lead thanks to kills from
Katelyn Mueller and Smith, the Islanders surged ahead with a 6-1 run that made the score 24-21 in their favor.
Kills from Walker and Bosse narrowed the Wildcats' deficit to one point (24-23), but Corpus Christi managed to hold on with the match-winner provided by Sam Dumity (9K).
The Wildcats return to action Tuesday at Moody Coliseum for a 6 p.m. match vs. Nicholls. Fans are encouraged to wear their best costume for a chance to win prizes. ACU defeated the Colonels in four sets in Thibodaux, La., back on Oct. 13.
