Volleyball Falls To ACU

October 25, 2007

WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Southwestern Oklahoma State University took Abilene Christian University’s best shot and never flinched battling the regionally-ranked Wildcats on even terms before falling 3-1 Thursday in a well-played volleyball match Weatherford.

ACU won by scores of 30-23, 30-26, 20-30 and 30-24. The win improved the Wildcats to 12-11 and 7-2 in the Lone Star Conference. SWOSU slipped to 11-19 overall and 2-7 in league play. The Bulldogs stayed in 11th place in the LSC standings and must win their final three games plus get help if they are to make the eighth and final spot in the LSC Postseason Tournament.

Kasandra Gurtner, Kacia Sandburg and Tennessee Brown combined to have 35 of SWOSU’s 46 total kills in the match. The Bulldogs finished with 46 kills against only 20 errors in 162 attacks for a percentage of .160. ACU did slightly better coming up with 67 kills against 31 errors in 189 attacks, a percentage of .190. The Wildcats were plagued by a troublesome service game that resulted in 18 errors off serve while SWOSU misfired only eight times.

The Bulldogs looked good most of the match but looked particularly impressive in the third game ratcheting up their defense and stuffing ACU’s offensive attack. ACU had more errors than kills (12-10) and could not solve the Bulldogs at the net. SWOSU ended the match with 11 blocks compared to ACU’s 1.

SWOSU had the fourth and final game tied at 19-all before ACU won seven of the next nine points to pull ahead 26-21. The margin was too much and the stage was too late as ACU won the fourth, 30-24.

The Bulldogs will close their home season Saturday afternoon against Angelo State University. Start time is scheduled for 2 p.m.