Wildcats win at Kingsville, Tarleton

ACU KOs Kingsville, 3-1; wipes out Tarleton, 3-0

ABILENE -- The ACU Wildcats went on the road last week and won a pair of big matches to finish the first half of Lone Star Conference South Division tied atop the standings at 4-1.

The Wildcats (20-7 overall) are tied for first, along with West Texas A&M.  ACU will return to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. when it takes on Incarnate Word in a non-conference match at Moody Coliseum.

ACU, which beat Angelo State at home last Tuesday, won at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday and then capped the 3-0 week by winning at Tarleton State on Saturday.  ACU beat the Lady Javelinas, 28-30, 30-22, 30-21, 30-27, and then beat the TexAnns, 30-24, 30-22, 30-21.

Sophomore outside hitter Michelle Bernhardt led the way for the Wildcats with 26 kills and 11 digs against the Lady Javelinas, and 11 more kills in the win over Tarleton State.  Senior outside hitter Haylee Hartline was steady in the two road matches with 12 kills against Kingsville and 14 kills against Tarleton State.

ACU hit .273 as a team against Kingsville, and followed that up with an impressive .353 hitting percentage in the sweep of Tarleton State.

The Wildcats' 20-7 record marks just the 11th 20-win season in the 33-year history of ACU volleyball, and current ACU head coach Brek Horn has three of those: 23-12 in 1999, 29-6 in 2000 and the current 20-7 mark.