ABILENE—The Wildcats faced their toughest test yet of the 2019 Wildcat Classic when they hosted North Texas on Saturday afternoon. The Mean Green, despite being just 3-4 on the season, are regularly one of the toughest teams in Conference USA and finished as a runner-up to the C-USA champions, Rice, in 2018. ACU kept pace with UNT and showed their competitiveness as they played a tough match, but were unable to get the win, falling in straight sets.
ACU powered to a4-1 lead early in set one, including two blocks on perennial all-C-USA performer Valerie Valerian. The Wildcats were able to keep the set close early, but with the set tied at 15-all, the Mean Green put together an 8-0 run to put the set out of reach for ACU. Down 6-4 in the second set, the Wildcats wen on a 10-2 run to go up by six mid-way through set two. The lead would not be enough though as UNT closed the gap and earned the 25-20 win. The Wildcats continued to keep up with the Mean Green throughout set three and led as late as 22-21. UNT then ran off four-straight points to secure the set and match.
Breanna Box was nearly unstoppable for the Wildcats as she put together her best match of her young career. The freshman tallied 12 kills to lead the team as well as four block assists.
Mackenzie Harris and
Madison Rohre each had two aces in the match, while Harris led the defense with 18 digs and Rohre tallied 30 assists. As a team, the Wildcats outblocked the Mean Green 9-4.
Scoring Summary
Set 1: 17-25
Set 2: 20-25
Set 3: 22-25
News and Notes
- The 12 kills and .435 hitting percentage were both career-highs for Box.
- Eighmy Dobbins' service error was her first missed serve of the 2019 season.
- The team as a whole hit .212 on the match, their second-highest team percentage of the season.
- Defense was a difference maker for UNT as they led ACU in digs, 64-46.
- The match featured 29 ties and 11 lead changes.
Mooney Said It
Student Athlete Interview
Up Next
ACU heads to Lubbock on Monday to face Texas Tech. The two teams faced off in Abilene in 2018 with the Red Raiders coming away with the 3-0 victory. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m.
