ABILENE, Texas — The Wildcats rallied back after dropping set one to hand Sam Houston a loss in four sets. The Bearkats came into the match with an 8-2 record in WAC play and sat atop the Southwest Division. ACU's win broke a four-match skid for the Wildcats as well as breaking a four-match win streak for SHSU.
The Wildcats put a new look lineup on the floor and the first set featured some growing pains as the team fell behind early and couldn't gain ground for a comeback. Despite dropping set one, ACU bounced back and opened the second set on a 6-0 run. The Bearkats cut the lead to 8-6, but ACU ran off another six-straight points to lead 14-6 and never looked back to even the match at 1-1. The team was down 5-4 early in set three before going on a 13-2 run to jump out to a 17-7 lead that pulled the momentum fully in favor of the Wildcats. After taking the 2-1 set lead, the fourth set was close throughout but it was another late ACU run that gave the Wildcats a 24-18 lead and they were able to come away with a 25-21 win to take the match.
Scoring Summary
Set 1: 15-25
Set 2: 25-21
Set 3: 25-20
Set 4: 25-21
News and Notes
- Bryley Steinhilber and Jada Birkel led the way for the Wildcats with 14 kills each. Birkel paced the team in hitting percentage with a .367 mark on the night.
- The team totaled 12.5 blocks on the night for their first double-digit block outing since totaling 11 against Lamar.
- Sarah Nading put up a career-high of 48 assists while totaling five blocks and two kills on the night.
- Londyn Gray earned her first start of the season and totaled 10 digs, seven kills, and four blocks.
- Brea Box had a career night at the net with eight blocks, while also totaling eight kills on a .333 hitting percentage.
Coach and Player Interviews
Up Next
The Wildcats will play their final home match of the season on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. when they host SFA for Senior Day.
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