ABILENE, Texas — ACU saw its fifth-straight loss on Monday night as the team fell to the Tarleton State Texans, 3-1.
The first two sets went back and forth, with the Texans taking the first set 27-25 and the Wildcats taking the second set 26-24. Then, the Texans tool the last two sets 25-19 and 25-23.
The first set was tight the entire match, but when ACU gained a 25-24 lead, the Texans went on a 3-0 run to win the set.
In the second set, the Texans took a 16-9 lead, but the Wildcats closed the set on an 8-2 run to even out the match at 1-1.
As for the third set, Tarleton State went on an 8-0 run to take control and win the third set. Finally, in the fourth set, the Wildcats trailed the Texans 21-14. Then, ACU went on an 8-1 run to even the match at 22-22. But the Wildcats could not complete the comeback, with TSU going on a quick 2-1 run to take the match.
The Wildcats and the Texans were close to even in all statistic categories. Tarleton State held the advantage in hitting percentage (.176 to .156), digs (90 to 88) and blocks (seven to five). ACU held advantages in kills (59 to 53), assists (56 to 51) and aces (four to three). Ultimately, what haunted the Wildcats were errors. ACU had 12 service errors to TSU's eight and the 'Cats had 28 hitting errors to the Texans 22.
Despite the loss, three Wildcats had career nights.
Freshman outside Annaleise Sevier finished the game with a career-high 12 kills and eight digs in her second career start. Sevier also added two blocks to her performance.
Sophomore Abby Christian also had a career-high 27 digs, which also was the team best for the night. She also had a team-best two aces.
Sophomore Hannah Gonzalez also topped her career high set earlier this year with a team-best 14 kills on the night. She also led the team with four blocks.
Senior Bryley Steinhilber notched another double-double, finishing the night with 13 kills and 19 digs. Senior Madeline Guffy led the team with 29 assists.
The Wildcats will hope to snap their five-game losing streak on Thursday at 6 p.m. inside Moody Coliseum as they take on Grand Canyon for the first time this season.
If you can't catch the match in person, you can stream it live on ESPN+, or you can also receive updates by following the team on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook and acusports.com.
#Unshakeable #GoWildcats
