ABILENE – Comeback. Complete. ACU wrapped its invitational tournament Saturday morning in grand fashion against a former rival in the UIW Cardinals. The Wildcats (2-0) dropped the first two sets before mounting a big comeback with a pair of 25-21 wins to force the winner-take-all-fifth. The 'Cats closed strong with a 15-11 win to start the season 2-0.
Lindsey Toney's 29 kills earned her all-tournament team MVP (62 for the weekend), and
Madison Rohre added 53 more assists (112 for the weekend) to be named to the all-tournament team as well.
UIW hit over .400 in the first set, and led by as many as nine (20-11). The Wildcats got as close as a six-point deficit (23-17), but the Cardinals took the opener 25-18. UIW got going again in the second set, building as much as a six-point lead at 22-16. ACU did use a 5-0 run to get it to 22-21, but the visitors rattled off the final three points to take set two, 25-21.
UIW hit .406 through two sets, while ACU hit just .154.
ACU led 3-0 in the third, and would lead by no more than four the entire way. There were four ties in the set, and the 'Cats did not trail the entire way. It was a 22-19 lead when UIW called a timeout. ACU closed it out to win 25-21 with
Lindsey Toney sandwiching a pair of kills around
Jada Birkel's.
UIW got off to a 7-4 start in the fourth set, forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout. ACU went on a 3-0 run to tie it at 13-13 after an incredible volley back and forth that ended with a Toney kill. After the teams traded points, ACU used a 4-1 run and eventually built up a 21-18 lead. UIW got within 23-21, but a service error and a
Braden Bossier kill sent the match to a decisive fifth set.
The fifth set began with UIW leading 3-2, but ACU went on a 5-0 run to force a Cardinal timeout. Toney and Birkel combined for four of those five points to lead 7-3. It was ultimately a 6-2 run to put ACU up 9-5, but UIW responded with a 6-3 run to make it a 12-11 ACU lead. ACU struck back with three in a row to complete the comeback, 15-11.
Scoring Summary
Set 1: 18-25
Set 2: 21-25
Set 3: 25-21
Set 4: 25-21
Set 5: 15-11
News and Notes
- Toney added another 29 kills to her weekend total, and hit .328 for the day.
- Jada Birkel tallied 15 kills and a .375 kill percentage.
- UIW outhit ACU, .301 to .211, but the 'Cats were good down the stretch and also used 10 service aces to their advantage.
- Breanna Box tallied 11 kills as well.
- Rohre's 53 kills gave her 112 for the weekend, and added 18 digs as well.
- Madison Lawler recorded 14 digs, while Toney and Emily Van Dyke tallied 13 apiece.
Up Next
ACU has two days off until they host the Big 12's Texas Tech Lady Raiders. The match gets underway at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31 in the Teague Center, and will air on ESPN+.
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