ABILENE - Abilene Christian volleyball built a lead in each set versus Tulsa but couldn't hang on as it dropped a 3-0 decision at Moody Coliseum on Monday afternoon.
The Wildcats look to get back on track at the Lamar Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Beaumont, Texas. They'll match up with Texas Southern, Cal State Fullerton and Lamar at David R. Stopher Gymnasium on the Cardinals' campus.
Aubrey Beaver led ACU in kills for the fifth time this season, recording 14 to go with six digs. The Cal State Fullerton transfer's 126 kills through 10 matches are the most by a Wildcat at the Division I level in their first 10 matches of the season, surpassing Jennifer Loerch's mark of 122 in 2015.
Hannah Gonzalez added nine kills and her seventh solo block of the year.
Rachel Koss collected 30 assists and a service ace, while
Brennan Ramirez tallied 20 digs and an ace.
Both teams were deadlocked for much of the opening set, with neither side able to build an edge for long. ACU built momentum with a 3-0 run to take the biggest lead of the period at 21-18, but Tulsa answered with a 3-0 rally of its own to tie things at 22.
The back-and-forth affair continued, with the Wildcats fending off multiple set points for the Golden Hurricane until Tulsa broke through at 31-29. Beaver paced ACU with seven kills in the set.
The Wildcats engineered a hot start in the second set as they jumped to a 10-5 advantage before the Golden Hurricane called a timeout. ACU's lead swelled to 17-10 until a 3-0 Tulsa run led the Wildcats to call a timeout of their own. The Golden Hurricane kept their feet on the gas, as their 11-2 run gave them their first lead at 21-19.
ACU leveled the score at 21 with one of
Ashli Edmiston's five kills at .400, but Tulsa rattled off four consecutive points, including two aces, to secure a come-from-behind 25-21 victory.
The third set again saw both squads trade blows ahead of a 5-0 Wildcat run that put ACU in front at the break, 15-12. The Golden Hurricane came out of the media timeout on fire, using a 11-1 rally to put themselves in front for good. Tulsa kept ACU at bay en route to a 25-19 win that clinched the match.
