ARLINGTON, Texas — ACU's Western Athletic Conference tournament run was cut short on Thursday night, with the 'Cats falling to the UT Arlington Mavericks, 3-0.
The Wildcats fell in straight sets, 17-25, 18-25 and 14-25.
In the first set, the Mavericks went on a quick 6-1 run to take an early 11-4 lead. While the Wildcats finished the set hitting .105, UTA finished the set hitting a match low of .235, yet finished the match on a 4-0 run to win the first set.
In the second set, the Wildcats hit a match-best .135 percent in the set and even went on a 6-0 run to take a 14-9 second set lead. Yet, the Mavericks struck back with a 6-0 run of their own 9-2 run while finishing the set hitting a march best .464 percent. That snatched all the momentum ACU had built, and the Mavericks took a 2-0 match lead.
The Wildcats struggled while the Mavericks kept rolling in the third set. ACU was outhit by UTA, .108 to .360 in the set. ACU was outscored in the third set 11-3, and were never able to rally back into the match.
ACU finished the match with 33 kills, 33 assists, 36 digs, four blocks, one ace, and a total .116 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, UTA finished the match with 38 kills, 34 assists, 50 digs, six blocks, six aces and a .345 hitting percentage.
Alexis Strong finished the match with a team-best 10 kills, Hannah added nine kills and Bryley Steinhilber had five kills.
Madeline Guffy finished with 22 assists on the game while having the team's lone ACU. Defensively, Nieko Thomas led ACU with three blocks, with Annaleise Sevier right behind her with two blocks of her own. Abby Christian had 10 digs while Steinhilber had eight.
Fans can follow the 'Cats through the offseason by keeping track of the program on Instagram, X, Facebook and acusports.com.
#Unshakeable #GoWildcats
