ABILENE, Texas — ACU will finish out the 2024 regular season on the road this weekend, with matches against Grand Canyon and California Baptist.
With one win this week, the Wildcats will punch their ticket to the WAC Tournament, this year only two and a half hours away in Arlington, Texas. First, ACU will head to Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Grand Canyon Lopes. Then, the Wildcats will close out the regular season in Riverside, California on Saturday with the match starting at 3 p.m. against California Baptist.
The final two games of ACU's regular season will also stream live on ESPN+.
ACU Storylines:
THE FINAL WEEK OF MOODY MADNESS: The Wildcats finished their final two games in Moody Coliseum 1-1. First, ACU lost a five-set heartbreaker last Thursday against Utah Valley, keeping the program winless against UVU. The Wildcats finished their season in Moody on a high note, getting a Senior Day five-set win against Southern Utah.
STREAK SNAPPED: With the win against Southern Utah last Saturday, the 'Cats snapped an eight-game losing streak. Before the win against Southern Utah, the Wildcats' last win was on the road against Tarleton State on October 10, where they won 3-2.
EYES ON ARLINGTON: With one week remaining in the regular season, three teams, ACU, Seattle U and Tarleton State are left fighting for two open slots in the 2024 WAC Volleyball Tournament. The Wildcats will be able to clinch a tournament spot this week by either winning one game this week or if Tarleton State loses one of their two games this week.
CAREER-MILESTONE REACHED: In a five-set showdown with Utah Valley last Thursday, Madeline Guffy reached 2,000 career assists, as she finished the night with 47 assists. She was the third Wildcat in the program's Div. I history to reach the milestone. Throughout her career at ACU, Guffy has recorded 511 assists in 2022, 916 assists in 2023, and currently sits at 584 in 2024, a team-best.
FIVE SET WONDERS: The Wildcats are still 5-1 this season when a match goes to five sets. Those include wins over Oral Roberts, California Baptist, Seattle U, Tarleton State and Southern Utah. The only loss ACU had in five sets was last Thursday against Utah Valley.
SUPER STEINHILBER: Senior outside and captain, Bryley Steinhilber leads the teams in kills, digs and aces this season. The senior has 265 kills 245 digs and 29 service aces.
MONSTER BLOCK: Sophomore middle blocker Hannah Gonzalez has made her mark in her second season, her first as a starter. Gonzalez leads the team with a .232 hitting percentage and 71 blocks. She also has the second most kills on the team with 206.
History with Grand Canyon
- GCU leads the series, 4-1
- Current Streak: GCU, 3 wins
- Last ACU win: Oct. 15 2022, 3-2
- Last GCU win: Oct. 31 2024, 3-0
Scouting the Lopes
- Grand Canyon is 18-9 so far this season, sitting at 11-4 in WAC play.
- In the Lopes and the Wildcats' first game against each other this season, the Lopes took a 3-0 in Abilene on October 31.
- Head coach Kendra Potts is in her first season at GCU after coaching five seasons at West Texas A&M with a 124-24 record in her career there.
- Tatum Parrott leads the team with 355 kills so far this season and is this week's reigning WAC Player of the Week. Taylor Kubacak leads the offense with 695 assists while also having a team-best 40 aces.
- Mykenna Nelson leads the team with 392 digs so far this season while Trista Strasser has 139 blocks at the net this season.
History with California Baptist
- The Wildcats lead the series, 3-2
- Current Streak: ACU, 3 wins
- Last ACU win: Oct. 3 2024, 3-2
- Last CBU win: Oct. 13 2022, 3-1
Scouting the Lancers
- California is 6-21 this season with a 6-9 conference record. The Lancers earned a conference tournament bid last week due to wins against Utah Tech and Grand Canyon, the third and second ranked teams in the WAC.
- The Wildcats and Lancers faced off earlier this season, with the Wildcats taking a 3-2 win in their first conference game at home on October 3. The Wildcats are 3-0 against the Lancers over the past two seasons.
- Amanda Darling, the leading libero for CBU, is coming off a strong week with 32 digs and was named WAC Libero of the Week. She has a team-best 303 digs this season.
- Nicole Mauser leads the team with 223 kills, Reese Reed has a team-best 482 assists, Madison Gilliland leads the team with 91 blocks and Mia Jerue has a team-best 46 aces.
#Unshakeable #GoWildcats
