NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Abilene Christian volleyball hits the road for the first time this season as it competes in the SFA Tournament, hosted by Stephen F. Austin at Shelton Gym on Friday and Saturday.
ACU meets Sam Houston at 11 a.m. Friday before taking on the host Ladyjacks later in the day at 5 p.m. The Wildcats close out the tournament versus Louisiana at 11 a.m. Saturday. ACU's match with Stephen F. Austin can be streamed on ESPN+.
The Wildcats aim to put a dent into their series deficits against each opponent. ACU trails Sam Houston, 5-10, and Stephen F. Austin, 2-14. It has met Louisiana just twice, dropping both matches. The Wildcats last met each opponent in 2022, with third-year head coach
Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup having not coached against any of the three teams.
ACU carries a 2-2 record into the weekend after breezing through a sweep of Northwestern State at Moody Coliseum on Wednesday. Its defense became the story of the night, as the Wildcats' 25-9 victory in the opening set marked their second-fewest points allowed in a set in the program's Division I era and fewest since 2013.
Sophomore
Annaleise Sevier paced the Wildcats with nine kills versus the Lady Demons, while redshirt freshman
Courtney Church set a career high with eight. With efficient performances, both landed within the top 10 in the Western Athletic Conference for hitting percentage, with Sevier in seventh (.276) and Church in 10th (.259).
Junior
Aubrey Beaver's seven kills raised her team-leading total to 45, good for seventh in the WAC with 3.00 per set. Junior
Hannah Gonzalez's 2.33 kills per set are tied for 10th in the conference.
Redshirt sophomore
Erika Gustafson's three solo blocks gave her seven for the season, third-most in the country in her first season with the Wildcats. Her 1.45 blocks per set rank second in the WAC, while Gonzalez's 1.20 are tied for seventh.
Fresh off garnering Jersey Mike's A Sub Above WAC Libero of the Week honors, redshirt freshman
Brennan Ramirez's 57 digs and 3.80 digs per set are good for third in the league.
Beaver and juniors
Abby Christian and
Izabelle Larson tallied three service aces apiece on Wednesday, placing each within the WAC's top 10 for aces per set. Beaver rose to second with 0.50, while Christian tied for third and Larson drew for eighth. A 26-assist outing for junior
Rachel Koss led her to third in the conference with 7.60 assists per set.
Beaver, Gustafson and Ramirez are each transfers in their first seasons with ACU, while Church redshirted her freshman year in 2024.
The Wildcats rank within the top three in the WAC in a number of categories, including second in opposing hitting percentage in (.139) and service aces per set (2.00). ACU ranks third in hitting percentage (.179), kills per set (11.73), assists per set (10.87) and blocks per set (2.40).
Collectively, the Wildcats' 176 kills, 30 aces and 36.0 blocks are each second-most in the conference and rank within the national top 40.
Sam Houston boasts Conference USA's second-most digs per set with 16.54, ranking 31st in the country and powered by Shaelin White's 5.23. The Bearkats' 24 aces through three matches are in the national top 50, while their 161 kills are second in Conference USA.
Stephen F. Austin's strength is found in the serving game, as it ranks sixth in the nation with 2.86 aces per set. The Ladyjacks lead the Southland Conference in hitting percentage (.277) and kills per set (14.00) and are just as adept at the net. Their 2.42 blocks per set rank second in the league, with Molly Cravens and Kyanna Creecy in the individual top three for the statistic.
Stephen F. Austin is coming off a 24-9 campaign with a 14-2 mark in the Southland. The Ladyjacks advanced to the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. It began this season with wins over UTSA and Texas State.
Louisiana's 13.50 kills and 12.67 assists per set each rank second in the Sun Belt Conference. Both Chelsea Gilmore and Gigi Smith are within the top 10 in the Sun Belt in hitting percentage. The Ragin' Cajuns are on the heels of a 3-0 weekend that featured wins over Texas Southern, Tarleton State and New Orleans.
