ABILENE - Abilene Christian volleyball pushed conference frontrunner Utah Valley to the brink, but the Wolverines outlasted the Wildcats to deal them a 3-2 loss to close out the regular season at Moody Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
ACU will now prepare for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, hosted at Moody Coliseum from Nov. 20-22. The Wildcats will begin play in the tournament's quarterfinal round on Thursday, with seeding, opponent and match time information to be released at the conclusion of Saturday's WAC matches.
The Wildcats registered a .255 hitting percentage against the Wolverines and outdid them in kills, 63-52.
Aubrey Beaver powered ACU with 20 kills, her second performance of the season with at least 20 kills. She swung at a .425 clip and added two service aces for 22.5 points.
Annaleise Sevier,
Ashli Edmiston and
Hannah Gonzalez combined for 31 kills, with Gonzalez recording a .368 attack percentage to go with a pair of block assists. Sevier notched career highs with four blocks and two solo blocks. Freshman
Hadlee Welch chipped in eight kills.
Rachel Koss collected 28 assists, and senior
Becca Siedenburg added 19.
Brennan Ramirez had 18 digs.
Utah Valley set the tone early in the opening set, rattling off six points in a row for a 6-3 edge and a lead it wouldn't lose for the remainder of the period. ACU got within three points at 16-13, but a 6-1 Wolverine run propelled them to a 25-17 victory. Sevier and Edmiston tallied three kills apiece in the set, with Sevier also registering a solo block.
The Wildcats found an early lead in the second set behind a 4-0 rally that armed them with a 10-5 advantage. Both teams traded points before a 7-2 ACU run took it to the end of the set, where it grabbed a 25-16 win. Beaver came alive in the period with six kills and an ace.
ACU took its momentum into the third set, jumping to a 5-1 lead with five consecutive points before a 6-1 streak moved it ahead, 14-5. The Wildcats finished the set how they started it, capping it on a 5-1 run for a dominant 25-13 victory. Beaver and Edmiston totaled nine kills as Koss dished out seven assists. ACU's offense operated with an efficient .414 attack percentage.
Utah Valley got back on its feet in the fourth set, mounting a 12-2 rally to move into the driver's seat at 14-5. The Wildcats scratched back with a 6-1 run, getting within four points at 16-12. Neither team managed to build significant momentum for the remainder of the period, with the Wolverines claiming a 25-20 win and forcing a fifth set.
Beaver provided five kills and an ace in the period, while Gonzalez and Welch had three kills each. Koss logged eight assists.
ACU came out of the gates hot in the fifth set, winning the first three points before grabbing a 6-3 advantage. Utah Valley roared back with six straight points to take a 9-6 edge and flip the set in its favor. The Wildcats responded to get within a point at 10-9, but the Wolverines scored five of the next seven points for a 15-11 win.
