CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—ACU headed to Corpus Christi to face the A&M-CC Islanders for their last road match of the season. Both teams came into Saturday coming off of tough conference losses in five sets on Thursday. The Wildcats dropped one on the road at UIW, while AMCC pushed the conference leader, SFA, to their first five-set conference match in two years.
From the beginning of the match it was all Islanders, with the Wildcats unable to get their offense in rhythm.
Marybeth Sandercox didn't have many early chances, but she was able to convert starting the match off with four kills on four swings. The Wildcats kept the second set close early, before allowing a 6-0 run from the Islanders. Despite the run, ACU fought back and tied the match at 23-23 before AMCC got two kills to close out the set. Set three was another close match and both Sandercox and
Lorin McNeil continued their efficient offensive performances. Despite that success, the Islanders came away with another 25-23 win to earn the straight-set victory.
Kennedy Shelstead led the team with nine kills on a .348 hitting percentage. She was not alone in efficient performances as Sandercox hit for .615 and McNeil hit for .545.
Madison Rohre had a solid performance, dishing out 21 assists to run the offense.
Mackenzie Harris totaled 14 digs over the three sets, backing up her solid outing against UIW on Thursday.
Scoring Summary
Set 1: 15-25
Set 2: 23-25
Set 3: 23-25
Mooney Said It
On the success of the middles: "Once we settled down with our first contact, really after set one, we were able to get the ball to the middle in a lot of different situations. Both Lorin and Kennedy did a great job seeing their offensive priorities and executing when and where they needed to."
On Marybeth's success on the right side: "We were able to give the ball to Marybeth in and out of system today and her aggresive play at the net helped her find kills in both situations. She was hard to stop and we were able to prioritize her as a side option. It was fun to watch her at the net today."
On the defensive effort in today's match: "After set one, our back-row defense played well, especially in the third set. Some of that had to do with the blockers getting in a rhythm and using the right moves, but both Mackenzie and Sofia made some big time digs today."
News and Notes
- Marybeth Sandercox led the team in hitting percentage for back-to-back matches, she hit .467 at UIW and followed it up with a .615 performance this afternoon.
- Harris has averaged 4.75 digs per set on the weekend.
- The Wildcats outblocked the Islanders 5-1 on the match.
- Sandercox now has 10 total matches hitting .429 or better.
- The Wildcats have outblocked their opponents in 21 of their 24 matches this season.
Up Next
ACU returns home for their final two matches of the season, they host McNeese on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Lamar on Saturday at 11 a.m. for their Senior Day.
