ABILENE - Abilene Christian will host the 2025 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament at Moody Coliseum on Nov. 20-22, the league announced Thursday. It will mark the Wildcats' first time hosting a conference volleyball tournament in 20 years and the first instance at the Division I level.
ACU previously hosted the Lone Star Conference Tournament in 2005, when it captured the second leg of back-to-back conference titles. At that point, it had also been 20 years since the LSC tournament was last played in Abilene in 1984 and 1985. Moody Coliseum's capacity has since increased to 3,600.
"We are so excited to have the opportunity to host the last WAC championship this fall season," head coach
Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said. "ACU has done an amazing job behind the leadership of President Schubert that we have top-in-the-nation facilities here in Abilene, Texas. I'm really excited to showcase our amazing facilities and have a home atmosphere while we compete for the WAC Championship. Our team has had our eyes set on winning a WAC Championship since I've taken this position and the opportunity to win it at home for us is huge. We can't wait for the Abilene community to come out and enjoy a great weekend full of high-level volleyball and to have their support in our pursuit of a ring!"
The WAC Tournament has been played at a different site in each of the past four seasons and was hosted by UT Arlington in 2024.
ACU kicks off its third season under Moronu Alstrup with the Wildcat Classic on Aug. 29-30 at Moody Coliseum, taking on the likes of Missouri State, Incarnate Word and Oklahoma. The Wildcats will play 11 regular season matches at home, including six WAC contests.
ACU will prepare for the regular season with the Purple and White Scrimmage on Aug. 15 at Moody Coliseum before meeting Angelo State in an exhibition match on Aug. 23 at the Dodge Jones Youth Sports Center (AYSA).
The Wildcats retain a strong core from the 2024 campaign, including four of their five leaders in kills.
Avery Thaler returns to the court following her WAC All-Freshman Team selection, while
Hannah Gonzalez and
Abby Christian look to build upon sophomore seasons with over 230 kills and 200 digs, respectively. Gonzalez doubled as last year's leading blocker with 73 denials.
