COMMERCE, Texas - Abilene Christian volleyball recorded the second-most kills, assists and digs in a match in the program's Division I era, but couldn't overcome East Texas A&M in a 3-2 loss at the Field House on Monday night. The Wildcats closed out their nonconference slate as Western Athletic Conference action begins on Thursday.
ACU remains on the road for the first three matches of WAC play, beginning against Utah Valley at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Wildcats and Wolverines will meet at Behnken Field House on the campus of Westminster University in Salt Lake City.
ACU collected 74 kills, 72 assists and 95 digs, each good for the second-most in a match in the DI era dating back to 2013. The Wildcats' 211 attack attempts are third in the program record book. They added a .213 hitting percentage and 12 blocks.
Rachel Koss spearheaded ACU's efforts with 60 assists, the most in a match in the DI era. She boosted her performance with three block assists and 11 digs as one of four Wildcats with double-digit digs.
Brennan Ramirez led the category with 29, tied for seventh-most in a five-set match.
Hannah Gonzalez continued the Wildcats' historic night with 24 kills, tied for eighth-most in a match in team history, at a .392 clip. She tallied six block assists with one solo block for 28.0 points, ranking sixth in the program's single-match record book. Gonzalez's kills and 51 attempts are career highs, while her total blocks and block assists tie her career bests.
Aubrey Beaver complemented Gonzalez with 16 kills, while
Avery Thaler and
Ashli Edmiston provided 10 apiece. Beaver collected a service ace, a solo block and seven digs, while Thaler recorded an ace, a solo block, three block assists and six digs.
The Lions jumped to a 10-4 lead out of the gates in the opening set before the Wildcats answered with an 11-2 run to grab a 15-12 lead at the midway point. ACU's advantage grew to as much as five points, but East Texas A&M fought back with a rally of its own, ending the period on a 9-2 run to grab a 25-23 win.
ACU ensured the second set was a far more one-sided affair, taking a 15-9 lead at the halfway mark and not looking back. The Wildcats recorded 11 of the final 15 points in the set, breezing to a 25-13 victory behind five kills each from Gonzalez and Beaver. Thaler helped the cause with a solo block and two block assists.
Both squads traded rallies in the back-and-forth third set, with ACU using a 10-2 run to take a 15-10 edge. East Texas A&M responded with a 7-1 rally that pushed it ahead, 20-18. The Lions reached set point at 24-23, but the Wildcats fended them off with a kill by Thaler. Knotted at 25, a kill by
Annaleise Sevier and an attack error propelled ACU to a 27-25 win.
East Texas A&M gained the upper hand in a neck-and-neck fourth set, taking a 15-10 lead at the midway point. The Wildcats faced a 20-16 deficit, but took a two-point lead thanks to six consecutive points. The Lions scored four in a row to tilt the scales back in their favor, and after ACU fended off two set points, East Texas A&M broke through for a 28-26 victory. Gonzalez registered eight kills in the period.
The Wildcats led by as much as four points in the decisive fifth set before the teams met an 11-11 tie. East Texas A&M rattled off three straight points and capped its 15-13 win and the match with Gracie Campbell's 22nd kill.
