ABILENE—The ACU volleyball team opens Southland Conference play at home this weekend when they host UIW and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Wildcats began the season 2-8 in non-conference play and will have a tough matchup in their first weekend of Southland competition. After losing key players from last season's fourth-place team, ACU looks to start their conference campaign on a positive note and begin their journey back to another Southland Conference Tournament.
Wildcats outlook
ACU is still trying to find their identity within their young team. The team had outstanding performances against Loyola Marymount and North Texas, despite losing those matches. Through their first three weekends of action many fresh faces have stood out for the Wildcats. Freshman libero,
Mackenzie Harris, has anchored the defense with multiple matches of 20 or more digs.
Breanna Box had a breakout performance against UNT totaling 12 kills on a .435 hitting percentage to go along with four blocks. Sophomore
Lindsey Toney has stepped up in various matches as well included putting together a career-high 23 kills on the road at Prairie View.
As the team heads into conference play, some of their toughest challenges are yet to come. Since joining the Southland, the Wildcats are 4-6 against UIW and 3-7 against AMCC. The Wildcats have won four of their last five matches against UIW, but the Islanders have gotten the better of the Wildcats in recent years.
Scouting the opponent
- UIW was voted to finish ninth in conference play in the Southland preseason poll. The Cardinals return reigning Freshman of the Year, Bethany Clapp, as well as four other starters from last season's team. The team finished 7-9 in conference play last season, but they have gotten out to a slow start in 2019 with a 4-10 record. UIW is coming off of a tough tournament where they faced UTEP, Houston, and host Texas Tech. They dropped all three matches, but went to five sets with UTEP and Houston and also took a set from Texas Tech. The Cardinals are hitting .194 on the season but have allowed their opponents to hit .250.
- After a fifth place finish in the Southland in 2018, the Texas A&M-CC Islanders were voted to finish fifth once again. The Islanders return all seven of their starters and had no impact players leave the program. The team has started the 2019 campaign 8-6, including wins at Houston and New Mexico. AMCC will start their conference slate with a match at conference favorite, SFA. Both Madison Green and Julia Carter were named to the preseason all-conference teams. Green leads her team in both kills and assists and has totaled three triple-doubles on the season so far. The Islanders have out hit their opponents by a slim margin this season (.230 to .225) but have also been solid defensively, averaging over 14 digs per set on the season so far.
Match information
Remember that all home volleyball matches for the 2019 season are FREE admission! The Wildcats will host UIW at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26 and AMCC at 1 p.m on Saturday, Sept. 28. Come out in your 90's gear on Thursday for 90's night!! The first 50 students will get a free t-shirt!
