ABILENE – Abilene Christian fell behind by two sets before rallying for a much-needed WAC volleyball victory over California Baptist on Thursday.
ACU won 17-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 16-14.
After dropping the first two sets, ACU fell behind early in the third, 3-0. The Wildcats went on a convincing 14-3 run from there, getting four kills from
Ashli Edmiston in that rally. The Lancers got as close as two points from there but Edmiston finished off the set with consecutive kills.
CBU again led early in the fourth set but the Cats opened up a lead with a 10-3 run, including a pair of kills by
Breanna Box for a 15-9 lead. The Lancers got no closer than three points from there.
The fifth set was close throughout and CBU got to match point at 14-13 but the Cats rallied for the next three points: a block by
Braden Bossier and
Madeline Guffy, a block by Bossier and
Alexis Strong and a service ace by Guffy.
"I'm just really proud of the effort that we put in," said ACU Head Coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup. "We've been working really hard on our mentality and our mindset and I think that we had a really good job. We're staying aggressive and fighting for each other."
The win snapped a five-match slide that had put the Wildcats in need of a win to keep the postseason in their possession. The victory kept ACU a game ahead of Tarleton State and two ahead of Utah Tech with three matches left in the season. ACU is now tied for sixth and the top eight teams make the WAC Tournament.
Edmiston led the Cats on Thursday with 19 kills with Bossier adding 15 and Box 13. Guffy had 51 assists.
Sara Carrizales led the defense with 24 digs while
Abby Christian and
Bryley Steinhilber added 14 each and
Andie Sheppard and Guffy contributed 10 each.
ACU had eight aces on the evening, led by Carrizales with three.
Now 11-14 overall and 6-7 in the league, ACU hosts Grand Canyon for Senior Day at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
