HOUSTON—The Wildcats put their young team to the test once again, traveling to Rice to participate in the Adidas Invitational. The team had a tough challenge ahead as they faced Loyola Marymount of the West Coast Conference on Friday night. After a slow start in the first set, the Wildcats came back competitive in sets two and three, but it was not enough to top the Lions as the team lost in straight sets.
Abilene Christian struggled early in the match totaling only eight kills as a team in the first set. The team showed great resolve as they continued in the match, taking early leads in each of the second and third sets and keeping LMU on their toes. Both
Lorin McNeil and
Breanna Box were hitting .600 or better through the second set to lead the offensive attack.
The third set was all about defense as they put together seven total blocks through the first half of set three. Despite the great effort, the Lions found a way to get around the big block of the Wildcats, working their way to the third set victory and match sweep.
Scoring Summary
Set 1: 13-25
Set 2: 23-25
Set 3: 23-25
News and Notes
- The Wildcats put their best blocking performance of the season together with eight total blocks on the night.
- Breanna Box earned her first career match start.
- Libero, Mackenzie Harris, notched two kills in the match.
- McNeil led the Wildcats with seven kills on a .375 hitting percentage.
- Box is hitting .391 with 12 kills in six played sets on the season.
- The team debuted a 6/2 offense after running a 5/1 the first weekend.
- Kennedy Shelstead totaled 7 kills and five block assists.
Mooney Said It
On debuting the 6/2 rotation: "We went to the 6/2 not only for an offensive advantage but a defensive one as well. Having Brea and Marybeth on the right really helped our blocking and defensive effort tonight. Quiet a few players were in new, never played roles tonight and they handled their responsibilities great. I believe as we settle in and get more comfortable the 6/2 it will be a really great option for us."
On the key to the great blocking effort in set three: "In the second set, we started to really slow balls down at the net. Even though we weren't terminating the play with the block, it gave us the momentum and confidence we needed going into set three. When we committed to our blocking schemes, it allowed us to get into a great blocking rhythm."
On keeping their intensity level and competitiveness, despite the slow first set: "We talk a lot in our program about taking each rep, each play, each rally and each set one at a time and separating each of those things from one the other. The idea is that we will learn from the last thing we did but not dwell on it. Once set one was done, it was done and the team did a great job of being ready to reset and start new."
On the key takeaway's from the success in sets two and three: "We are overall happy with the way the team as a whole played in sets 2 and 3. We played some of the best volleyball yet in those sets. We will look to take confidence from the good things we saw and take them into tomorrow's nights match vs Rice."
Up Next
ACU continues their play in the Adidas Invitational at Rice tomorrow evening when they play the host school at 7 p.m. in Tudor Fieldhouse.
