ABILENE - Abilene Christian volleyball kicks off postseason play this week at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Moody Coliseum. The No. 4-seeded Wildcats will get started versus No. 5 UT Arlington in the nightcap of the quarterfinal round at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Fans can purchase an
all-tournament pass for admission to all six matches, including the championship, or
Session 1 and
Session 2 passes. A Session 1 pass is good for all three quarterfinal matches on Thursday, while a Session 2 pass provides admission to both semifinal matches on Friday.
If the Wildcats beat the Mavericks, they will meet WAC co-champion and No. 1 seed Utah Valley in the tournament semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday. With a 5-7 mark in WAC play, ACU matched its highest conference tournament seeding in the Division I era after the 2018 Wildcats were seeded fourth in the Southland Conference Tournament.
Adding to the history of this year's tournament, Moody Coliseum is staging a conference tournament for the fourth time ever and for the first time since 2005, when the Wildcats competed in Division II's Lone Star Conference. That season, ACU beat Central Oklahoma for the LSC title.
ACU is aiming for its first-ever victory in the WAC Tournament and first win in a conference tournament since 2017, when it reached the Southland championship.
The Wildcats won four of their last six matches to close out the regular season, falling in five sets to Utah Valley in the finale on Nov. 15 in Abilene.
Aubrey Beaver recorded 20 kills at a .425 clip to fuel ACU's offense as three others notched double-digit kills.
ACU pulled off a sweep of UT Arlington in the regular season, earning a 3-1 win in Arlington, Texas on Oct. 4 before pulling out a 3-2 victory in Abilene on Nov. 1.
Ashli Edmiston totaled 27 kills and four service aces between both matches, while
Annaleise Sevier collected 22 kills.
Rachel Koss amassed 62 assists and
Brennan Ramirez had 33 digs.
ACU received four postseason honors from the WAC on Wednesday, marking the most All-Conference accolades the Wildcats have earned in the program's Division I era.
Hannah Gonzalez led the way with All-WAC First Team distinction, while Koss collected All-WAC Second Team accolades. Ramirez and
Hadlee Welch represented ACU on the WAC All-Freshman Team.
The Mavericks head to Abilene with an 11-13 record and a 3-9 mark in conference play, having lost their last five matches.
