ABILENE, Texas — ACU snapped its eight-game losing streak on Saturday, earning a 3-2 win over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Senior Day inside Moody Coliseum."
"What a fun match to be a part of," head coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said. "Tons of credit to Southern Utah for their defensive efforts, they certainly made us work for every point but in the end, we managed to earn the points we needed." We had a number of different team members during important times in the match and it truly felt like a team win. When the team on the court was down the members off the court were contributing with energy and focus."
The Wildcats took the first two sets 25-21 and 26-24, then Southern Utah took the third and fourth sets 25-17 and 25-20. Finally, in the fifth set, ACU took the fifth set 15-8.
ACU opened the first set on a 7-1, sparked by three service aces by Bryley Steinhilber. ACU finished hitting .242 in the set and Southern Utah had five service errors in the first set to help ACU take the first set win.
The second set saw ACU hitting .270 while Southern Utah finished hitting .205 percent. The game was tight, with ACU at one point being down 23-21. But the 'Cats rallied back and went on a 5-1 run to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third and fourth sets, the Thunderbirds changed the course of the match. SUU finished the two sets with 29 kills and hitting .196 in the third and .393 percent in the fourth set, knotting up the match at 2-2.
In the fifth set, the Wildcats started strong on a 3-0 run, quickly followed by a 4-0 run, then the Wildcats ended the match on a 4-1 run. ACU finished the set hitting .316 while holding SUU to a .100 percentage. On the final point, SUU committed service error 17, helping ACU clinch a huge win.
ACU took the match despite not hitting as well as the Thunderbirds. ACU finished the match hitting .189 with 56 kills while SUU .240 percent with 64 kills. SUU ultimately held an 11-9 aces advantage over ACU, but the 17 errors from the service line haunted them while the Wildcats finished with only three.
ACU's defense shined in the match, with 10 blocks over SUU's eight while having 86 digs one the match as well.
The seniors on ACU played tremendous roles in helping ACU clinch their fourth WAC win. Bryley Steinhilber added another double-double on her season, having a team-best 15 digs and 11 kills in the match. Madeline Guffy had her tenth double-double of the season, with 48 assists and 14 digs in the match, while also having four blocks.
ACU's middles also had a strong game. Hannah Gonzalez added a team-best 12 kills while adding four blocks. Nieko Thomas hit a team-best .304 with 11 kills while also having a team-best five blocks.
"Both seniors had an outstanding match, both earning MVP honors as voted by the team, and we were so proud of how they played," Moronu Alstrup said. "Hannah was able to finish the match really strong offensively and Nieko was really consistent throughout the whole match and had some big-time blocks."
Up next, the Wildcats spend their final two games of the regular season on the road as they head to Phoenix, Arizona, and Riverside, California with matchups against Grand Canyon and California Baptist. Both games will air live on ESPN+.
"Once again have to thank the fans for another great game with a great atmosphere," Moronu Alstrup said. "We are so grateful to everyone who has attended a match in Moody this year and we can't wait for another great season in Moody. Looking forward we are confident about ending the regular season strong and peaking just in time for the conference tournament."
If you can't catch the match in person or on ESPN+, you can also receive updates by following the team on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook and acusports.com.
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