ABILENE - Abilene Christian volleyball fell to conference frontrunner Utah Tech by a 3-0 decision at Moody Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The match saw
Rachel Koss record the 1,000th assists of her three-year career, becoming the fifth Wildcat in the program's Division I era to reach the milestone.
ACU returns to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18 versus Tarleton State at Moody Coliseum for Greek Day. The Wildcats will recognize the school's fraternities and sororities at the match.
The Wildcats collected 34 kills and four blocks, as
Ashli Edmiston and
Hannah Gonzalez led the offense with nine kills apiece. Gonzalez swung at a .353 hitting percentage with a solo block as
Alexis Strong added seven kills.
Avery Thaler tallied three blocks with a solo block.
Koss registered 28 assists, with her 21st of the day marking the 1,000th of the junior's career. The Appleton, Wis. native owns 1,007 assists, ranking fifth in the Wildcats' DI history. Elsewhere in the record book, Edmiston moved into seventh place in career kills with 709.
Brennan Ramirez was responsible for 12 digs, giving her 295 this year. She moved into the program's top 10 for most digs in a season in the DI era.
Both teams traded rallies to begin the opening set, with the Trailblazers taking an 8-5 lead behind a 4-0 burst and turning it into a 15-11 lead at the midway point of the period. The Wildcats got within a point at 16-15 and stayed within arms reach of Utah Tech at 21-20. The Trailblazers picked up the pace to end the set, though, to grab a 25-21 win.
Strong powered ACU with five kills and a block assist in the set while hitting at a .308 clip.
The Wildcats took command early in the second set, opening with a 9-5 lead before a 5-1 Utah Tech run knotted the score at 10. The Trailblazers followed with a 6-0 rally to grab a 16-12 edge and used another 4-0 run to move ahead, 20-14. ACU cut its deficit in half at 23-20 and inched closer at 24-22, but a Utah Tech kill sealed its 25-22 victory.
Gonzalez churned out six kills in the set at a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage alongside a solo block. Edmiston complemented her with four kills at a .500 mark.
A pair of 4-1 runs got the Trailblazers started in the third set, moving them ahead 9-5 for a lead they wouldn't lose. Utah Tech led 15-10 at the midway point and was in front by as much as seven points before a 3-0 ACU rally got it within 21-17. The Trailblazers remained steady for the remainder of the set, sealing the match with a 25-19 win.
Five of
Courtney Church's six kills took place in the third set as she combined with Edmiston for nine kills. Koss' assist on an Edmiston kill that made it a 10-7 game served as Koss' 1,000th.
