Beach volleyball readies for ACU Beach Bash

ABILENE-After it was announced that fall sports would compete in the spring of 2021 due to COVID, it set up an unconventional spring that saw the indoor volleyball program compete through the first weekend of April. With a majority of the indoor players also members of the beach program, it forced the Wildcats to make the tough choice of opting out of an official beach season. Despite not competing in an official capacity, the program has used the last two weeks to get in some much needed reps in preparation for an intersquad event this Saturday. The team will hold the ACU Beach Bash on Satuday, April 24, and it will be open for the public to attend.

After an unconventional spring indoor season it is great to get out on the sand as a group. It has been a long grind for our beach only kids and we are thankful for their understanding and hard work despite all the challenges we have faced as a program. We have a lot of young players who are learning to play on the sand, it's been really fun watching how fast they are learning and how hard they are competing in practice.

Head coach Angela Mooney

ACU BEACH BASH

4 rounds of pool play

Afternoon bracket play with winner and loser brackets

Pool play begins at 9 a.m.

Bracket play begins at 1 p.m.

Break for lunch between pool and bracket play

I am really excited to play on Saturday. I think everyone over the past two weeks have come out and worked really hard, even the people who had never played beach before. The past few months have been difficult because we weren't sure if we would be able to play beach at all, but it is a light at the end of the tunnel for us to be able to play this weekend. I can't wait to get on the court and have fun while competing.

Sophomore, Claire Dunn

Emily Van Dyke dives for a ball at beach practice

Hunter Barker cheers on her teammates at beach practice

I'm really excited that we are getting the chance to come out and play, especially since we weren't sure if we would get this opportunity or not. As an indoor player who fell in love with beach as a freshman, it was a relief to find out we would get to play this spring and use our new courts. I am pumped for Saturday, this group we have has shown great improvement over previous seasons and we are playing at a high level with great competitiveness. We are focused and ready to have some fun competition on Saturday.

Junior, Brittney Roberts

While the team was not able to have a traditional beach season, the players and coaches alike have enjoyed the two weeks they have had for full team practices. The players are looking forward to a little competition on Saturday and the chance to have the community come out and support this young program. The Wildcats were unable to use their brand new courts last season, practicing just twice at their new home facility before COVID hit, and were afraid they wouldn't get much use out of them this season either. Now, they have had two great weeks together as a team and are excited for the competition ahead.

We have been having a great time out on our beach courts. We didn't get to use them much last year so it is a great opportunity for those who have played beach before to get back out in the sand. We have a bunch of new freshmen who have never played before and it is fun to watch them learn something new and how fast they have picked it up. While we have only had about two weeks, we have put in some really hard work so far leading up to this scrimmage. I think we will see some really good, really competitive volleyball this weekend.

Assistant coach, Seth Alstrom