CONWAY, Ark. – Senior setter
Kendall Bosse assisted on 25 of the Wildcats' 33 kills Thursday during a 3-0 loss at Central Arkansas in becoming only the seventh athlete in Abilene Christian volleyball history to record 3,000 career assists.
A native of Ingram, Texas, Bosse began her Wildcat career in 2015 as an outside hitter with then-senior
Sarah Siemens (2012-15) still directing the offense, but in the years that followed she's collected 873 assists as a sophomore, 1051 as a junior, and has 1053 this season. Thus far, she is averaging a Southland Conference-leading 10.03 assists per set this fall and has a career average of 6.88 through 116 matches and 439 sets played.
Twice this year she's set a personal single-match high with 55 assists in five-set battles vs. Oral Roberts (Sept. 8) and Incarnate Word (Sept. 29), while in years past she's recorded 50 or more assists in several four-set matches, and had a 41-assist performance in a three-set sweep of Sam Houston State (Oct. 31, 2017).
Bosse's company in the Wildcats' 3,000-assist club includes 2005 All-America and varsity leader Lindsey Martin (5,793), former assistant coach and all-region honoree
Ijeoma Moronu (4,813), plus Brittney Binder (4,296), D1 era leader Siemens (3,644), Randi Kinzer (3,623) and Kara Rapp (3,434), who's the only student-athlete on this list who played prior to rally-point scoring (2001-present). Martin's tenure (2002-05) additionally coincided with the collegiate scoring era (2001-07) in which sets were played to 30 points.
Junior middle blocker
Kennedy Shelstead also added her name to the Wildcat record book tonight by setting a three-set match record (D1 era) with nine total blocks (one solo) as ACU tied the Bears with 11 rejections. Shelstead's block total eclipsed the former record of eight held by several Wildcats and was only three shy of
Lexi Mercier's D1-era match record of 12, which she recorded in back-to-back contests in 2013 at Houston Baptist (five sets) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (four sets).
The all-time record for most blocks in a single match still belongs to Jana Moore, who had a hand in 19 rejections vs. Eastern New Mexico in October of 1988.
Despite having these impressive marks set at the Prince Center, the Wildcats still remain winless through seven meetings with the Bears, which won the match by scores of 25-19, 26-24 and 25-21.
UCA led from start-to-finish in the first set behind a .395 attack percentage, and rallied late from several deficits to squeak out a two-point triumph in the second set.
ACU twice led by as many as four points while looking to even the match, but experienced trouble at times corralling the setter / attacker combination of Bailey Waddington (34 assists) and Samantha Anderson (17K, .457). This duo tied the score at 15-15 in erasing the Wildcats' once 14-10 advantage, and were later responsible for the final two points after a Wildcat attack error knotted the set at 24-24.
The Wildcats appeared ready to capture the set after a kill from senior middle blocker
Lauren Walker made it 21-19, but the Bears used their block to tie the score twice more at 21 and 23. Sophomore outside hitter
Katelyn Mueller, who was ACU's leading striker tonight with 11 kills, then delivered the Wildcats' final point in giving her side a short-lived 24-23 lead.
Two of Shelstead's nine blocks led off ACU's third set, but the Bears would score four of the next five points in taking a lead they would not relinquish. UCA eventually pushed its lead out to six points (15-9) and had an eight-point lead when it reached match point (24-16) thanks to three consecutive service aces from Rayna Jefferis. The Bears, however, had issues finishing the match as the Wildcats scored four consecutive points before their coaching staff called for a timeout.
ACU started its mini run with a Mueller kill that was followed by an attack error and back-to-back blocks involving Muller, Bosse and Shelstead. UCA again missed the mark on the first possession coming out of the stoppage as the Wildcats cut its lead down to three points (24-21), but the Bears got the next and final point on a block from Savanah Allen and Elizabeth Armstrong.
The Wildcats return to action Saturday for a 1 p.m. match at Stephen F. Austin that will be streamed on
ESPN3. The Ladyjacks have won their last 23 matches and are 13-0 vs. the Southland Conference.
