ABILENE—ACU fell to 3-9 in Southland play after two home losses last week. The team remains just one game out of a tie for eighth place and will look to get key wins on the road this weekend to move into conference tournament contention. The Wildcats will begin their last regular season road trip at UIW who they beat in their conference opener and will then travel to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi who after a slow conference start, now sits in third place in the SLC.
Wildcats weekend outlook
Sitting just one game out of a tie for eighth place in the conference standings, the Wildcats need to execute on their weekend trip. UIW has just two wins in Southland play and would be a key win for the Wildcats to help their postseason chances. ACU was able to take a match from the Islanders early in the season, but A&M-CC has turned their season around and sit at 9-3 in conference, good for third place. A road win in Corpus Christi could be a great boost towards ACU's push to get into the Southland Tournament.
The middles have continued to dominate for ACU with
Kennedy Shelstead coming off of 14 kill, eight block performance in a five-set loss to SHSU. The senior hit .500 for the match including dominating the third set, hitting 7-of-8, to help the Wildcats extend the match. Not to be outdone,
Lorin McNeil put down 13 kills of her own on a .407 hitting percentage in the Sam Houston match as well. The Wildcats featured
Makenzie Kesler in the SHSU match, setting in the front row, and she dished out 19 assists in her season debut.
Scouting the opponent
The Cardinals of UIW have struggled in conference play this season and sit at 2-10 heading into this weekend. The team began conference play 0-8 before going 2-2 in their last four matches, earning wins over New Orleans and Lamar. While the team ranks near the bottom in most of the conference statistical categories, both of their setters (Blalock and Gonzaba) as well as their top blocker (Landreth) are ranked within the top ten of the league individually. In the last meeting between UIW and ACU, the Wildcats earned the sweep but two of the set wins came in extra points. The Wildcats will need to perform at a high level to ensure the season sweep of UIW.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi came into the Southland season with a solid non-conference record and looked to build off a team that returned all of their key player from last season. Despite lofty goals, the team began conference play 0-3 including a loss at ACU. The Islanders have turned it around since those early losses, running off nine-straight wins and sitting in a tie for third place. A&M-CC have earned three sweeps during their run and only went to five sets once in that span. The team ranks in the top-5 of almost every statistical category in the conference and will look to even the season series with the Wildcats on their home court.
How to follow along
11/7 at UIW
Live video |
Live stats
11/9 at A&M-CC
Live video |
Live stats
Also, follow along on @ACU_Volleyball Instagram and Twitter for in-game updates.
