ABILENE – Matches against NCAA qualifiers LSU, James Madison and Central Arkansas, and a home date vs. Texas Tech highlight the 2018 Abilene Christian volleyball schedule revealed Friday by second-year head coach
Angela Mooney.
"I'm enthusiastic about the way our schedule came together for this upcoming season," she said. "Nine out of thirteen preseason (non-conference) opponents ended the 2017 season ranked 150 or better in NCAA RPI.
"It's a goal of ours to improve our own RPI with each year, and I believe it's not just about getting wins in the preseason but about giving our team more opportunities to challenge ourselves against higher ranking opponents."
The Wildcats' season begins the weekend of Aug. 24 and 25 at Georgia Tech, where ACU will battle the host Yellow Jackets in addition to Georgetown Idaho State and Winthrop. Subsequent tournament destinations include Texas State (Aug. 31 - Sept. 1), Tulsa (Sept. 7-8) and SMU (Sept. 14-15).
ACU is scheduled to face the LSU Tigers during its weekend in Dallas, and will see the JMU Bulldogs on Sept. 1 in San Marcos. The Texas State tournament also will feature UTSA while postseason qualifier Oral Roberts will play the Wildcats in Tulsa.
Overall, there are eight postseason teams on ACU's 29-match slate including Texas Tech, which makes its way to Abilene for a 6 p.m. contest on Tuesday, Aug. 28. The Red Raiders topped the Wildcats last season at the United Supermarkets arena en route to a 19-15 record and runner-up title at the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
Southland Conference play begins at Moody Coliseum the weekend of Sept. 20 and 22 vs. Lamar and McNeese and concludes Saturday, Nov. 10 vs. Sam Houston State. The Bearkats are one of four teams ACU will face twice this fall in addition to Houston Baptist, Nicholls and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Wildcats won't face the Southland's two postseason qualifiers until the first weekend in November when they play at Central Arkansas (Nov. 1) and Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 3).
ACU became the first No. 8 seed in Southland Conference Championship history to upset the No. 1 seed (SFA) at last year's tournament hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, before making it all the way to the finals where it fell in three sets to UCA.
Outside hitter
Jacey Smith and setter
Kendall Bosse each made the Southland Conference All-Tournament team and are two of ACU's 12 returning letter winners for the 2018 campaign.
"We've matured and grown a lot this spring in a number of areas," said Mooney. "We're a returning a great group from last fall who came out of the 2017 season really hungry to keep improving over the spring season.
"The team really took ownership over their training and how they retained new information and skills from one practice to the next. They have really bought into the idea that it takes being intentional and paying attention to the smallest of details to get better every time they have an opportunity to step on the court. I'm looking forward to the returners instilling these newly adopted ideals into our incomers as they work together as a team without our staff's leadership over the summer."
| 2018 Schedule |
| Date |
Opponent |
Location |
| Aug. 24 |
Georgetown |
Atlanta, Ga. |
| Aug. 24 |
Winthrop |
Atlanta, Ga. |
| Aug. 25 |
Georgia Tech |
Atlanta, Ga. |
| Aug. 25 |
Idaho State |
Atlanta, Ga. |
| Aug. 28 |
Texas Tech |
Abilene, Texas |
| Aug. 31 |
UTSA |
San Marcos, Texas |
| Sept. 1 |
James Madison |
San Marcos, Texas |
| Sept. 1 |
Texas State |
San Marcos, Texas |
| Sept. 7 |
Oral Roberts or Tulsa |
Tulsa, Okla. |
| Sept. 8 |
Oral Roberts or Tulsa |
Tulsa, Okla. |
| Sept. 14 |
LSU, SMU or TBA |
Dallas, Texas |
| Sept. 15 |
LSU, SMU or TBA |
Dallas, Texas |
| Sept. 15 |
LSU, SMU or TBA |
Dallas, Texas |
| Sept. 20 |
Lamar |
Abilene, Texas |
| Sept. 22 |
McNeese |
Abilene, Texas |
| Sept. 29 |
Incarnate Word |
San Antonio, Texas |
| Oct. 6 |
Sam Houston St. |
Huntsville, Texas |
| Oct. 9 |
Houston Baptist |
Abilene, Texas |
| Oct. 11 |
New Orleans |
at New Orleans, La. |
| Oct. 13 |
Nicholls |
at Thibodaux, La. |
| Oct. 16 |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Abilene, Texas |
| Oct. 18 |
Northwestern State |
Abilene, Texas |
| Oct. 20 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
Abilene, Texas |
| Oct. 25 |
Houston Baptist |
Houston, Texas |
| Oct. 27 |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Corpus Christi, Texas |
| Oct. 30 |
Nicholls |
Abilene, Texas |
| Nov. 1 |
Central Arkansas |
Conway, Ark. |
| Nov. 3 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Nov. 10 |
Sam Houston State |
Abilene, Texas |
| Nov. 16-18 |
Southland Conference Championship |
TBA |
