ABILENE — For the first time in the 2024 season, the Wildcats will play inside Moody Coliseum for the Wildcat Classic starting Thursday.
The Wildcat Classic will play host to two home matchups for ACU to close out nonconference play. First, ACU will play the Alabama A&M Bulldogs from the Southwestern Athletic Conference on Thursday, September 19, at 7 p.m. for Student and Fan Appreciation Night. The following day, September 20, at 6 p.m., the 'Cats will be up against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles from the Summit League. If fans can't make it to Moody Coliseum, both of the Wildcats home games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
"During our time on the road, I feel we have taken steps in the right direction and I'm excited to finish up our preseason schedule at home in front of a great Moody crowd," head coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said. "Various injuries have changed our lineup throughout the preseason and I'm proud of the team's ability to stay cohesive as a group and move in the right direction. I'm excited to host both teams since they have some stand-out athletes that will certainly make our matches exciting. This will be the first time that a lot of our girls get to compete in Moody so we are hoping for a very fun environment and to put on a great competitive show."
ACU Storylines:
LAST WEEK IN LAS CRUCES: The Wildcats had their third consecutive tournament on the road, and had a third consecutive 1-2 finish at the Borderland Invitational. ACU was swept 3-0 in both of their matches on Friday against an undefeated Arizona team and tournament-host New Mexico State. The program was able to turn things around on Saturday, with the team sweeping Texas Southern 3-0 in their final match at the tournament.
CONFERENCE PLAY LOOMING: Next Thursday, the Wildcats begin Western Athletic Conference play with a weekend trip to Utah. First, ACU heads to St. George, Utah to take on the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Thursday, September 26. Then the team will make the 50-mile drive north on I-15 and head to Cedar City to take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. The Trailblazers are currently ranked third in the WAC standings while the Thunderbirds are ranked fifth.
MIDDLE ACTION: Two of ACU's young middle blockers saw the majority of action last weekend. Sophomore Hannah Gonzalez finished the weekend with 17 kills, with a career-best 12 kills in the match against Texas Southern. Gonzalez also added six blocks. Freshman Avery Thaler led the blocking efforts with nine blocks throughout the entire weekend and had a career-best nine kills and a .400 hitting percentage against Texas Southern. Gonzalez has a team-best 23 blocks while Thaler has the second most at 15 in her first season.
KILLER INSTINCT: Senior outside hitter Bryley Steinhilber not only led the Wildcats in kills last weekend in Las Cruces, but she also leads the entire roster this season. Steinhilber finished last weekend with 22 kills and she has 84 kills so far this season. She also leads all outside hitters with a .136 hitting percentage.
MAKING A COMEBACK: Junior Ashli Edmiston is starting to be part of the Wildcat lineup more and edging closer to being able to be at 100 percent. Edmiston suffered an ACL tear during the Wildcats' last game of the season in 2023 against Tarleton State and has slowly gotten more reps as this season has moved forward. Last week against Texas Southern, Edmiston got her first in-game time playing front row, finishing with four kills. Last season, she led the team with 288 kills and 310.5 points.
SET IT UP: Senior setter Madeline Guffy currently leads the team with 184 assists so far this season and is in the top five within the WAC. She also averages a team-best 6.34 assists per set.
DIGGING DEEP: Junior libero Sara Carrizales led the Wildcats with 81 digs this season, which also puts her in the top 10 of the WAC. She also adds 25 assists and three aces so far as well.
History with Alabama A&M
- This will be the first-ever matchup between ACU and Alabama A&M.
Scouting the Bulldogs
- The Bulldogs are 2-6 so far this season, with their two wins coming at the beginning of the season against Idaho and Oral Roberts.
- Head coach Brandon Reeves is in his first season leading the Bulldogs. He has coached at the collegiate level for 15 years, which includes tenures at Rust, Concordia, Chicago State and Edward Waters.
- Alabama A&M currently sits in fifth place in the SWAC with their 2-6 record. They were also picked to finish fifth overall in the SWAC Preseason Poll.
- Senior outside Fatima Ramirez leads the Bulldogs with 91 kills and averages a .216 hitting percentage. Grace Tapscott runs the offense with 149 assists with an average of 6.21 assists per set.
- Defensively, Kemora Coachman leads the way with 14 blocks and Michell Jerez leads the team with 90 digs and averages 3.33 digs per set.
History with Oral Roberts
- The series between ACU and Oral Roberts is tied, 2-2
- Current Streak: ACU, 2 wins
- Last ACU win: Sept. 9 2022, 3-1
- Last ORU win: Sept. 10 2016, 3-0
Scouting the Golden Eagles
- ORU is 1-9 in their first 10 games this season, with their only win coming on September 10 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
- The Golden Eagles are ninth in the Summit League standings, and they were also picked to finish ninth in the Summit League preseason poll.
- Summit League Preseason Player to Watch Trinity Freeman has carried the bulk of the Golden Eagles' offensive load. She leads the with 120 kills while also hitting .195 this season. She also adds 62 digs and seven blocks.
- Another selection for the Summit League Preseason Player to Watch honor was Breanna Rivas. She has the second most digs on the team with 80 digs so far this season, with Thaynara de Jesus leading the way with 85.
#Unshakable #GoWildcats
