ABILENE - Abilene Christian volleyball pushed Tarleton State to five sets at Moody Coliseum but dropped a 3-2 decision on Saturday afternoon. Freshman
Hadlee Welch amassed a career-high 17 kills, while
Avery Thaler added a career-best seven blocks.
The Wildcats hit the road for three consecutive matches, beginning at Utah Tech in St. George, Utah at 7 p.m. Thursday.
ACU outdid Tarleton State in kills, 56-52, and collected eight service aces with nine blocks. Welch surpassed her previous career best of eight kills while hitting at a .314 clip. She also set a career high with five digs and matched her best with four blocks.
Hannah Gonzalez picked up 10 kills as she passed the 500-career-kill milestone with 505 to her name.
Thaler and Gonzalez recorded two solo blocks apiece, with Thaler matching her career best. She tallied seven kills at a .357 clip as
Ashli Edmiston and
Courtney Church combined for 13 kills.
Becca Siedenburg led the team with 24 assists, her most as a Wildcat.
Rachel Koss provided four aces with 18 assists.
Both squads remained evenly matched through much of the first set, with the Wildcats grabbing a slight 15-13 edge at the media timeout. ACU strengthened its lead with an 8-1 rally that gave it its largest advantage at 21-14. Thaler contributed a pair of block assists and a kill during the run, while Edmiston notched a couple of kills.
Tarleton State used a 5-1 rally to cut into its deficit at 22-19, but ACU scored three points in a row to end the set with a 25-19 victory. Four Wildcats registered at least three kills, with Welch leading the way with four.
The Texans stormed to a 9-2 start to the second set, stretching their lead to as much as 14-6. The Wildcats responded with a 7-2 run of their own to get within three points at 16-13 and later got as close as 20-18. Tarleton State mounted a strong finish to period, though, to come out on top, 25-20.
Welch recorded five kills in the set, where she shattered her previous career best. Koss worked a pair of aces.
ACU took an early lead in the third period at 7-3 and controlled the tempo the rest of the way. A 6-1 rally pushed the Wildcats ahead, 17-10, after the media timeout, before a 6-1 streak to end the set led the way to a 25-14 win. It marked the fewest points ACU has allowed in a set in conference play since a 25-13 win at UT Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 11, 2023.
Welch continued to engineer her top performance of the season with six kills in the set, while herself and Thaler teamed up for three block assists each.
ACU and Tarleton State traded points throughout the fourth set, although a 6-2 run at the beginning ultimately gave the Texans a lead they wouldn't lose. Their lead grew to as much as 24-18 following a 5-0 rally, but the Wildcats answered with five consecutive points of their own to get within 24-23. Tarleton State fended off the late comeback bid, clinching a 25-23 victory to force a decisive fifth set.
Like the fourth set, the Texans found an early lead and held firm the rest of the way. They led by as much as 7-3 before ACU cut its deficit in half at 7-5. The Wildcats got as close as 10-8 before Tarleton State powered through for a 15-11 win to seal the match.
