ABILENE — The Wildcats gained their first win in Western Athletic Conference play on Thursday as they defeated the California Baptist Lancers, 3-2.
"I'm really proud of the team win that we were able to pull out today to win in five against a really solid conference opponent," head coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said. "It is tough to do but the team performed well when we needed it the most. We had a ton of players hitting over .250 which is just huge for us."
The Wildcats took the first two sets in the match, 25-20 then 30-28. The Lancers responded in the third and fourth set, winning those 25-20 and 25-23. Then, with all of Moody Coliseum holding their breath, ACU took the first set, 15-11.
In the first set, the Wildcats and Lancers were close early, but ACU went on a 7-1 run to take a lead in the middle of the set and never looked back. The 'Cats also finished the set hitting .345 percent.
The Lancers nearly won the second set, being up 24-21 but ACU went on a 3-0 run to tie the set, primarily led by back-to-back aces by Alexis Strong. ACU was out of subs, and after trading points back and forth, ACU finally took the second set 30-28. The Wildcats also finished the set hitting .319 percent.
In the third and fourth sets, CBU went on a 4-0 run and a 6-1 run, respectively to win those sets.
After a quick 2-0 start by CBU, the Wildcats responded by going on a 5-1 run to take the lead. ACU closed out the set on a 5-2 run while holding the Lancers to a .042 hitting percentage to stop a reverse sweep and get the first WAC win of the year.
The Wildcats and Lancers were neck-and-neck in every statistical category. ACU held a .225 hitting advantage over CBU's .201 hitting percentage. ACU had 62 kills to CBU's 61, 71 digs to the Lancers' 69, and both teams had 58 assists.
Though the Lancers led the aces margin 11 to six, ACU outblocked CBU, 12 to 7, to help gain the win.
Senior Bryley Steinhilber earned another double-double with 19 kills and 15 digs, leading both categories for ACU. Sasha Stotler led all hitters, hitting .400 percent with five kills.
Sophomore Hannah Gonzalez tied her career high with seven blocks, a team and match best. Gonzalez also added 10 kills.
Senior Madeline Guffy also earned another double-double with a match-best 26 assists while adding 14 digs. Rachel Koss also added a season-best 17 assists.
Alexis Strong and Abby Christian both had two aces, while Nieko Thomas and Guffy each added one.
Those were just some of the many players who made an impact on the roster, and coach Moronu Alstrup felt proud of how everyone on and off the court contributed.
"Bryley was a force to be reckoned with all night long, and Hannah also took some really big rips and nice defensive touches," Moronu Alstrup said. "Avery Thaler came in late in the game and contributed with a couple of blocks and nice swings and both of our setters did a really nice job with our offense throughout the match. Our right sides, Izabelle Larson and Sasha, also had a really solid night offensively. Our players off the court also did a great job of staying consistent and making sure that our players on the court felt confident throughout the whole game."
Up next, ACU will play Seattle U on Saturday at 11 a.m. for Big Country Day.
The Wildcats' match against the Redhawks will be streamed live on WAC International, but fans can also follow the matchup by following the team on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook and acusports.com.
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