DENTON, Texas - Abilene Christian volleyball battled back from two sets down to complete a reverse sweep with a 3-2 win over North Texas at the UNT Volleyball Center on Wednesday night. It's the Wildcats second reverse sweep of the season after beating Southern Utah on Oct. 9.
ACU looks to win its third match in a row when it hosts UT Arlington at Moody Coliseum at 7 p.m. Saturday. The team will celebrate Wildcats Out West and the Big Country with various Western activities, such as games, singing and dancing.
The Wildcats picked up their first-ever win versus the Mean Green, who entered the match on a six-game winning streak and within the nation's top 100 in RPI. It's ACU's first victory over an American Conference program.
The Wildcats recorded 68 kills with 66 assists while tying their season high with 14 blocks. ACU's assists are tied for the sixth-most in a match in its Division I history.
Avery Thaler provided 11 blocks, tied for third-most in a match in ACU's DI era, with 10 block assists, also tied for third-most. She added six kills.
Four Wildcats notched double-digit kills.
Ashli Edmiston registered a double-double with 18 kills and 10 digs while tying her career best with three blocks.
Hannah Gonzalez had 12 kills at a .310 clip to go with a solo block and two block assists.
Aubrey Beaver also tallied 12 kills, hitting at a .526 mark.
Annaleise Sevier earned 10 kills at .333 alongside three block assists.
Beaver's first kill of the night marked the 500th of her career, joining Edmiston and Gonzalez in reaching the milestone. Beaver has 228 kills this year after spending the first two seasons of her career at Cal State Fullerton.
Hadlee Welch's six blocks are a career high to go with four kills.
Brennan Ramirez completed her third match in a row with at least 20 digs behind a 23-dig effort with a service ace.
Abby Christian recorded a pair of aces, and
Rachel Koss logged 39 assists.
The opening set was tightly-contested in the early going before a 7-1 Mean Green run pushed North Texas ahead, 16-9. It reached set point at 24-18, but a 4-0 rally by the Wildcats got them within two points. The Mean Green capitalized on a service error to clinch a 25-22 set win. Gonzalez fueled ACU's offense with five kills as Thaler blocked a trio of shots at the net.
North Texas' momentum carried over into the following set as it opened the period on a 6-1 run before using a 9-2 rally to lead 15-7 at the midway point. A 5-2 run made it a 20-10 game, but ACU answered with a 9-2 rally of its own to get within three points at 22-19. The Mean Green scored three of the final five points for a 25-21 win.
Sevier picked up four kills in the period, while Thaler had three kills and a couple blocks.
The Wildcats engineered another rally in the third set after North Texas took an initial lead of 11-7. Both squads traded five-point streaks with ACU facing a 16-12 deficit. It dominated for the remainder of the set, closing it on a 13-3 run to fend off a sweep with a 25-19 victory. Gonzalez notched four kills, and Thaler blocked five shots with one solo block.
The Wildcats grabbed a 10-8 edge to open the fourth set before North Texas took a 15-11 advantage with a 7-1 run. Four straight ACU points tied the set at 15 as the two teams exchanged points. A 3-0 streak put the Wildcats ahead, 23-21, before the Mean Green tied it. They fought off ACU set point twice, but a Beaver kill and an attack error sealed a 27-25 Wildcat win and forced a decisive fifth set.
Beaver and Edmiston combined for 13 kills in the set as Koss logged 12 assists.
Neither team managed to build a significant lead in the fifth period, as ACU's 8-6 edge was met with three straight points by North Texas. The Wildcats moved into high gear with a 6-1 rally that set up match point at 14-10. The Mean Green persisted with three points in a row, but Edmiston's 18th and final kill of the night sealed the match. She had five kills in the fifth set behind eight assists by Koss.
