ABILENE - Abilene Christian volleyball fended off a late UT Arlington rally to secure a 3-2 win at Moody Coliseum on Saturday night, marking its third consecutive win. The Wildcats improved to 4-5 in Western Athletic Conference play and capped a season sweep of the Mavericks.
ACU looks to keep it rolling when it takes on Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.
The Wildcats collected 59 kills at a .232 clip with 13 blocks and seven service aces.
Hannah Gonzalez spearheaded ACU's attack with 11 kills and a .500 hitting percentage, adding two solo blocks. Freshman
Hadlee Welch notched nine kills with two block assists. With 24 solo blocks this year, Gonzalez is tied for the most in a season in ACU's Division I era.
The trio of
Ashli Edmiston,
Annaleise Sevier and
Aubrey Beaver collected eight kills apiece, with Sevier swinging at a .333 mark and Beaver blocking four attacks.
Brennan Ramirez and
Becca Siedenburg each recorded a pair of aces.
Avery Thaler registered nine blocks, including three of the solo variety. She's totaled 20 blocks in her past two matches and ranks seventh in the program's DI history with 25 solo blocks.
Ashli Edmiston and
Izabelle Larson each picked up the 45th aces of their careers to both move into a tie for 10th in career aces in the Wildcats DI record book.
The Wildcats struck first with a hot start in the opening set and rode it to a 25-13 victory. It marked the fewest points they've allowed in a set to a conference opponent since a 25-13 win at UT Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 11, 2023.
ACU grabbed a 7-2 lead behind a 6-1 run before a 5-0 streak moved it ahead, 12-3. UT Arlington got within five points thanks to a 4-0 rally, but the Wildcats used a 10-3 run to go in front by as much as 22-10. They held onto the advantage for the remainder of the period. ACU blocked five attacks, with Thaler having a hand in three of them.
The Wildcats carried their momentum into the second set, jumping to a 9-3 edge before turning it into a 16-7 lead following the midway point of the period. ACU stretched it to a 21-12 game and fended off a late 5-1 run by the Mavericks. It scored the final three points of a 25-17 win, with
Becca Siedenburg notching the winning point with a kill.
Beaver collected six of her eight total kills in the second set, while Siedenburg recorded a couple of aces.
UT Arlington got its feet under it in the third set, engineering a 6-0 run to take an early 10-6 lead. Both teams traded 3-0 rallies as the Mavericks led 15-10 at the halfway point. A 5-0 scoring streak from the Wildcats knotted the set at 17 as the squads continued to exchange blows. ACU neutralized three UT Arlington set points until a kill and a block by Sophia Krichev helped the Mavericks dodge a sweep with a 27-25 victory.
The fourth set saw the Wildcats and Mavericks continue to remain neck and neck with each other, leading to a tie at 17. The turning point came with an 8-3 UT Arlington rally that guided the visitors to a 25-20 win, forcing a decisive fifth set. Gonzalez picked up four aces as Thaler blocked two attacks on her own.
ACU locked in in the fifth set, never trailing as it held UT Arlington at bay. A 4-0 run pushed the Wildcats ahead, 11-6, proving to be just enough as the Mavericks launched a 6-2 rally to get within a point at 14-13. Sevier's kill sealed a 15-13 ACU win and clinched the match.
