ABILENE— The Wildcats returned home after a four-game road swing last Thursday when they hosted Southeastern Louisiana. ACU battled the Lady Lions but were unable to come away with the home win as they fell in four sets. That was the only match for the Wildcats last week, but they have a busy week ahead as they host New Orleans before heading on the road to face Northwestern State and Central Arkansas this weekend.
Wildcats weekend outlook
Abilene Christian has a tough week ahead as they face some of the top teams in the conference. Northwestern State sits in a tie for second place at 7-1, while New Orleans is in fifth place with a 4-3 record. Central Arkansas has had a down year, but they sit just ahead of ACU in the standings in ninth place with at 3-5 conference record. The will begin the week by hosting their Go Pink night on Tuesday against New Orleans.
The middles have been the focal point of the Wildcats offense in the past few matches.
Kennedy Shelstead has hit over .250 in the past three matches and
Lorin McNeil has hit over .300 in two of the last four matches. The team continues to be one of the best blocking teams in the conference, but they have struggled in their last two matches, resulting in a drop from second in the conference to fourth.
All three opponents for the Wildcats are hitting .200 or better as a team on the season thus far and rank within the top half of the conference for hitting percentage. The defense for ACU will need to be at their best to challenge this solid offensive teams. ACU outpaces both UCA and NSU in blocking which could be a great advantage for the Wildcats going into competition this week.
Scouting the opponent
New Orleans will be the first test of the week for ACU. The Privateers began conference play 2-0 before dropping three straight matches, but they were able to recover and have won their last two conference matches. Their offense is run by freshman setter Lucie Pokorna, who is averaging just over nine assists per set. Two of their hitters are averaging over 2.5 kills per set, including Brianna Vega who ranks in the top ten of the Southland with 3.14 kills per set.
Northwestern State has been one of the surprise teams in the Southland this season with their 7-1 record to open conference play. The Lady Demons lost their conference opener to Sam Houston State, but have since gone on a seven-match win streak which includes four wins on the road. Outside hitters, Hannah Brister and Alexis Warren, lead their dominant offensive attack and between the pair they have earned four conference offensive player of the week awards (Brister 3, Warren 1). Libero, Megan Lohmiller, has earned two defensive player of the week awards herself and has anchored a defense holding opponents to just a .190 hitting percentage and averages 15.81 digs per set.
Central Arkansas has been one of the top Southland contenders in recent years, but the team graduated a number of players and are sitting on a 3-5 conference record. Despite the poor record, the Sugar Bears are ranked in the top-five of the Southland for hitting percentage, assists, and kills. UCA's win over Lamar last weekend was their first conference match that went just three sets, all of their other matches have gone at least four and they have gone to five sets in three different conference matches. The team is led offensively by Madi Bowles and Abbie Harry who are averaging 2.81 and 3.49 kills per set, respectively.
How to follow along
10/22 vs. New Orleans
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10/24 at Northwestern State
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10/26 at Central Arkansas
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Also, follow along on @ACU_Volleyball Instagram and Twitter for all trip and in-game updates.
