ARLINGTON, Texas - Abilene Christian volleyball heads to the Metroplex this weekend to wrap up its seven-match road trip against UT Arlington at the College Park Center at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Wildcats are on the hunt for their first victory in Western Athletic Conference play and first true road win of the season.
A victory would snap ACU's four-match losing skid that saw it drop its first two WAC matchups to Utah Valley and California Baptist last week. The Wildcats fell to the Wolverines, 3-0, before a 3-1 loss to the Lancers. The Wildcats last beat the Mavericks in 2023 with a five-set victory in Arlington.
Aubrey Beaver paced ACU with 25 kills last week, good for 3.57 per set.
Ashli Edmiston continued her surge with 22 kills and a .292 hitting percentage, averaging 3.06 kills per set in her last five matches.
Avery Thaler was a force at the net, totaling nine blocks with a career-high six rejections at Utah Valley.
The Wildcats' offense has been powered by Beaver all season long, as she ranks fifth in the WAC with 3.27 kills per set and seventh with 0.37 service aces. ACU's 13.08 kills and 1.86 aces per set are each good for second in the conference.
Beaver's 3.80 points per set rank sixth in the WAC ledger, just ahead of
Hannah Gonzalez in seventh with 3.55. Gonzalez has complemented Beaver on the attack, landing in the WAC's top 10 in hitting percentage and kills and points per set. She's averaged 2.83 kills at a .259 clip, totaling 18 kills last week.
The Wildcats have amassed 824 total kills to lead the conference and rank fifth in the country, while their 117 aces stand in seventh. ACU's 754 assists also rank seventh nationally, with
Rachel Koss providing 560 to pace the WAC and land in seventh nationwide. She's averaging 8.89 assists per set.
Beaver,
Abby Christian and Koss each stand within the conference's top 10 in aces per set, with Koss collecting four at CBU to give her 19 aces this season. Beaver and Christian are both knotted with 22.
Ramirez remains tied for third in the WAC with 4.10 digs per set, while Thaler's .242 hitting percentage ranks ninth.
After an 8-0 start to the season, UT Arlington has dropped five of its last six matches, save for a sweep of Southern Utah to open conference action. Few teams have proven more adept at serving than the Mavericks, whose 145 total aces lead the country, while their 2.38 aces per set are second-most. UT Arlington boasts four of the WAC's top five leaders in aces per set, topped by Alexis Bull with 0.50.
The Mavericks have limited their opponents to a .154 hitting percentage, the best mark in the conference and ranked 14th nationwide. Samantha Glenn, the WAC Preseason Libero of the Year, leads the conference with 4.30 digs per set. She's been named the Jersey Mike's A Sub Above WAC Libero of the Week in two of the past three weeks.
Jalie Tritt and Camryn McMinn each rank in the top 10 for kills and points per set, while Mira Ledermueller is second in the conference with 8.56 assists per set. She was named the WAC Setter of the Week last week, her second team receiving the honor this season. Tritt and Ledermueller are each in the top five for aces per set, too.
