Cats Bounce Back for Two Wins

ABILENE – Abilene Christian roared Friday.
 
Down two sets to start the day, the Wildcats bowed up and won five consecutive sets to take down Providence 3-2 and North Dakota 3-0 in the ACU Tournament on Friday.
 
"We are really proud of the growth and the effort that the girls showed today," said ACU Head Coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup. "A lot of people stepped up in different ways and accepted the roles they were given and ran with them. We had some solid serving out of freshman Abby Christian as well as great defensive efforts out of her and our sophomore libero Sara Carrizales. Alexis Strong and Emily Mekelburg were also able to take more of the offensive load which was a big positive. Our middles remain a strong part of our team and freshman Hannah Gonzalez put in some good work for us there today. Overall, the team showed a lot of resilience coming back in the first match and then riding on that momentum to finish our first win in three of the season. We're looking forward to another opportunity to play the sport we love tomorrow against Grambling in front of our home crowd. Go Wildcats!"
 
Providence opened the first match in a defensive beatdown, limiting the Cats to a negative attack percentage for a 25-16 win. ACU found itself down 24-19 in the second set before asserting itself four a 4-0 run before the Friars got the 25-23 win.
 
Down 14-13 in the third set, the Cats got two kills by Gonzalez in a 5-0 run to take an 18-14 lead. After PC got within 19-17, Ashli Edmiston got two kills to ignite a 5-2 run and Gonzalez later ended the 25-20 win with a kill.
 
Down five points on three different occasions in the fourth set, ACU went on a 4-0 spree to tie the set at 15-15 but fell back to a 17-15 deficit. Gonzalez got in on a pair of blocks in a 5-0 run to give the Cats a 20-17 lead.
 
Providence bounced back to tie the set at 24-24 but the Cats won it 26-24, punctuated by a Breanna Box kill to force a fifth set.
 
ACU used a 5-0 run to build an 8-5 lead in the deciding set and then pushed the lead to 12-6. The Friars fought back to 12-9 before three PC errors ended the match.
 
Box led the Cats with 19 kills and Gonzalez added 12. Rachel Koss had 52 assists and a pair of aces.
 
Gonzalez was a part of three blocks. Sara Carrizales had 17 digs and Abby Christian added 15.
 
ACU had very little trouble with North Dakota, winning 25-18, 25-15, 25-20.
 
Down 17-16 in the first set, ACU flexed with Box getting two kills in a 4-0 run to take the lead for good, 21-16. The Cats closed out the set with a kill by Gonzalez, a block by Gonzalez and Braden Bossier, and a kill by Alexis Strong.
 
ACU blew open an 11-9 game in the second set with an 8-1 run for a 19-10 advantage. The lead swelled to 10 by the end of the set.
 
The Wildcats scored six unanswered points, including two kills by Edmiston, for a 22-16 lead in the third set. Box ended the match with a kill.
 
Edmiston and Box led the team with eight kills and Koss had 26 assists. Gonzalez got in on four blocks and Box was a part of three. Carrizales had 12 digs and Christian picked up 10.
 
Now 3-2 on the season, the Cats finish out the tournament Saturday at 4 p.m. against Grambling State.
 
In the other match on Friday, North Dakota beat Grambling State, 3-1. Saturday's matinee events have Providence playing North Dakota at 10 a.m. and Grambling State at 1 p.m.