HOUSTON—Abilene Christian faced their toughest test of 2019 as they took on reigning Conference USA champions, Rice, on Saturday night. The Owls were a perfect 5-0 coming into the match and had prevailed over Loyola Marymount twice in as many days. Despite a tough serving attack and another solid blocking effort, the Owls were too much for the Wildcats with ACU falling in straight sets.
Mounting attacking errors doomed the Wildcats early as they were unable to find an offensive rhythm. The team hit for a negative percentage in set one and just barely hit for a positive percentage in set two. Their offense came alive in set three, but it was not enough as the Owls came back late to seal the set and match.
While the offense struggled early, the defense and passing looked solid. As a team they only had three receiving errors in the match and tallied 40 total digs. Three different Wildcats had eight or more digs and the team tallied six total blocks. The Owls only earned four blocks on the night.
Lorin McNeil and
Marybeth Sandercox led the team offensively, hitting .222 and .273, respectively.
Scoring Summary
Set 1: 12-25
Set 2: 12-25
Set 3: 23-25
News and Notes
- Mackenzie Harris tallied 11 digs to lead the Wildcats.
- The team hit just .071 for the match.
- Kennedy Shelstead led the team with seven kills and three block assists.
- This was the second meeting between the two teams since ACU joined DI, Rice is 2-0.
- Eighmy Dobbins and Lorin McNeil were named to the all-tournament team.
Mooney Said It
On continuing a solid blocking performance on the weekend: "When we were able to put service pressure on Rice we were able to really execute well with our block whether that was getting good touches and slows or even terminating the rally. Doing both those things well at the same time gave us good momentum throughout the third set."
On being prepared fro tomorrow's match on a short turnaround: "Tomorrow is a new opportunity to test ourselves, gain some more experience and confidence. This time of year is all about growing, figuring out our team's identity and ultimately preparing the program for conference play. We are all eager to get back on the court."
On Dobbins and McNeil earning all-tournament honors: "Lorin played steady offensively making very few errors in both matches. Eighmy again had a solid weekend controlling the first contact, making really good decisions at the net and overall being a great on court leader for our team."
Up Next
The Wildcats will continue their play in the Houston area tomorrow afternoon when they head to Prairie View A&M for an afternoon match at 2 p.m.
