Cats Face Big In-State Road Trip

Thursday, October 12

Arlington, Texas

6 p.m.

Abilene Christian

UT Arlington

Photo by: Bryan Box

10/10/2023 9:27:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

By: Ray Fink

ABILENE – Abilene Christian volleyball launches an important in-state road trip this week as they try to stay ahead of Texas-Arlington and gain ground on front-running Stephen F. Austin.

The Cats play at UTA Thursday at 6 p.m. and at SFA in Nacogdoches at noon on Saturday.

ACU enters the week at 9-9 overall and in fourth in the WAC at 4-2.

ACU Storylines

WINNING: The Wildcats head into the trip on a three-match winning streak with victories over California Baptist, Utah Tech and Southern Utah. ACU now has as many conference wins as it had all of last season and two more wins than in 2022.

COMING IN HOT: Bryley Steinhilber has averaged 18.3 kills per match in her last three matches. She had a career-high 25 in the win at California Baptist.

LAST MATCHES: Breanna Box had 15 kills and Andie Sheppard had 20 digs the last time the Cats played UTA – a 3-2 win by the Mavericks. Bryley Steinhilber had 13 kills in a 3-2 loss against SFA last season.

KILLER QUAD: Four Wildcats have led the charge in kills this season, led by Bryley Steinhilber at 2.87. Ashli Edmiston stands at 2.74, Braden Bossier has 2.21 and Breanna Box checks in at 1.97. Steinhilber averages 3.42 kills per set in WAC contests. Box is second in the WAC with a .336 attack percentage.

GUFFY ON THE ASSIST: Madeline Guffy leads the team with 8.77 assists per game. Her numbers are better when it matters most. She averages 9.50 assists per game in WAC matches.

ACES HIGH: Madeline Guffy and Abby Christian lead the team with 28 aces each this season with Sara Carrizales at 19. As a team, ACU is second in the league and 22nd in the NCAA with 128 aces. Christian has 13 aces against the league and Guffy has a dozen.

DIGS DUG: Sara Carrizales leads the team with 3.71 digs per set this season and Andie Sheppard is at 2.87. In league games, both are at or above 3 per set with Sheppard leading the team at 3.08.

BLOCKS: Breanna Box (0.58) and Braden Bossier (0.53) lead the team in blocks per set.

History with UTA
UTA leads the series 6-3. ACU lost both matches last season, 3-2 in Arlington and 3-1 in Abilene.

Scouting the Mavericks

UTA is 14-5 this season and 3-3 in the WAC after sweeping California Baptist at home on Saturday.
Brianna Ford leads the Mavericks with 4.0 kills per set and 20 aces.
Mollie Blank averages a team-best 9.03 assists per game.
Paige Reagor (1.11 blocks per set) and Kortney Puckett (1.02) give the Mavs a formidable defensive front line.
Alli Wells leads UTA with 4.27 digs per set.

History with SFA
SFA leads the series 12-2, including a 3-2 win in Abilene last season.

Scouting the Jacks

Ielan Bradley leads SFA with 3.32 kills per set.
Jayden Flynn averages 5.89 assists and also leads the team with 23 aces.
Haley Hoang tops the Jacks with 4.25 digs per set.
Izabella Ortiz and Alleah Dallas form a strong front line for SFA, averaging 1.38 and 1.17 blocks per game, respectively.