ABILENE— On a night where Wildcat Volleyball honored one of their own entering the ACU Hall of Fame, they battled in a four-set match against Southeastern Louisiana. While SLU got the jump on the Wildcats early in the match, ACU fought back and pushed the match to four sets, ultimately falling 3-1 to the Lady Lions.
SLU had the jump on the Wildcats early, hitting .387 and taking set one 25-15. The Wildcats would drop set two as well and despite the tough start, found a way to continue to challenge the Lady Lions. ACU hit .263 in set three on their way to a 25-17 win and were mere points away from forcing a fifth set. Down to the wire late in set four SLU earned two timely blocks to move the momentum in their favor, taking the fourth set 26-24.
The Wildcats used three different liberos over the four sets, with
Sofia Resendiz seeing her first action in the libero jersey this season. Resendiz would not disappoint as she tied for the team-high with 15 digs as well as leading the team with three aces.
Eighmy Dobbins just missed a double-double with eight kills and 15 digs.
Brittney Roberts saw significant playing time in her second straight-match and totaled four kills on a .444 hitting percentage. The middles saw the most success offensively with
Lorin McNeil and
Kennedy Shelstead totaling 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
Scoring Summary
Set 1: 15-25
Set 2: 18-25
Set 3: 25-17
Set 4: 24-26
Moody Said It
On the defensive effort from her team: "Our team Is typically known for putting up good blocking numbers but over the last week, we've really emphasized our back row defense. Tonight, we were able to see the work during practices pay off in the match. Sophia stepped into the roll of libero and not only passed for a very high number but made some great plays on defense."
On what led to the efficiency from the middles: "We have struggled with the serve pass game the last few matches but tonight, we were in system more times than not. This allowed us to set the middles a lot. Both Lorin and Kennedy had really good nights offensively."
On fighting back despite the slow start: "Early in the match we had too many unforced attack errors. Once we settled into the match we were able to limit those and controlled most of the match even with the loss. I'm truly proud of the fight and resiliency our team continues to show this season."
On Roberts' solid performance: "Brittney played really well tonight. She made great choices offensively and slowed a lot of balls down at the net in sets 2 and 3."
News and Notes
- Shelstead and McNeil combined to go 23-of-41 with a .390 hitting percentage from the middle.
- McNeil had her second match with double digit kills on the season.
- Lindsey Toney played three of the four sets, but hit an efficient 5-of-11 in set four.
- This is the fourth straight match where the Wildcats have allowed the opponent to hit .220 or higher.
- The Wildcats tallied seven service aces to just three by the Lady Lions.
- During pregame tonight, the Wildcats honored Lindsay (DeHoff) Brewer who was named to the Hall of Fame as part of the 2019 class. Her family and former teammates accepted a game ball in her honor as Brewer (1980-2019) lost her valiant battle with cancer this past summer.
Up Next
ACU will host New Orleans next Tuesday, October 22, before heading back on the road next weekend. Tuesday's match will be at 6 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.
