CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Wildcats still are winless in Western Athletic Conference play, falling to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in straight sets.
Though the 'Cats lost in three tightly contested sets, 24-26, 22-25 and 23-25.
In each set, the Wildcats and the Thunderbirds were stride-in-stride with each other throughout each set, but ultimately SUU would end the set on a run to take control and win each set in the match.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats saw improvements in every area of the game from their match on Thursday against Utah Tech.
The Wildcats finished the match with 37 kills while hitting .153 on the match. The 'Cats had 45 digs, 34 assists and two aces. ACU also out-blocked the Thunderbirds, nine to seven.
Sophomore Alexis Strong led the Wildcats with 10 kills. Redshirt junior middle Nieko Thomas finished the match hitting a team-high .308 percent, also adding six kills and one block.
Sophomore middle Hannah Gonzalez finished the match leading both teams with seven blocks, also a career-high. Gonzalez also added seven kills.
Sophomore Abby Christian had the Wildcats' two aces, which also was a season-high for her.
Senior Madeline Guffy led the Wildcats with 21 assists while also having seven digs. Senior Bryley Steinhilber led the team with nine digs while also having eight kills.
Up next, ACU hopes to earn its first conference win of the season as they return to Moody Coliseum. First, they will play California Baptist on Thursday, October 3 at 6 p.m. for Hispanic Heritage Night. Then, ACU will play Seattle U on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 11 a.m. for Big Country Day.
Both matches inside Moody Coliseum will air on ESPN+, but fans can also follow the matchup by following the team on social media on Instagram, X, Facebook and acusports.com.
#Unshakable #GoWildcats
