Wildcats look to extend streak to 5 matches

First-place Wildcats hit road to take on Rambelles

SAN ANGELO -- ACU will take its four-match winning streak and first-place standing in the Lone Star Conference South Division to San Angelo for Thursday night's key LSC South Division match against Angelo State.

The Wildcats and Rambelles are set to get started at 7 p.m. at the Junell Center.

ACU needs a win to keep pace with West Texas A&M, which plays Thursday night at 0-5 Tarleton State.  ACU and West Texas A&M are tied for first place in the LSC South Division at 4-1 with Eastern New Mexico and Angelo State right behind the leaders at 3-2.

Regardless of what happens Thursday night, the Wildcats will probably fall one-half game behind West Texas A&M over the weekend. ACU is off this weekend while West Texas A&M will continue its long road trip when it plays Saturday at 1-4 Texas A&M-Kingsville.

The Wildcats won their fourth straight match Tuesday night when they slugged their way past Incarnate Word in four games at Moody Coliseum.  ACU was led by a quartet of players, each of whom had at least 14 kills:  outside hitter Michelle Bernhardt with 22 kills, outside hitter Haylee Hartline with 18 kills, middle blocker Amanda Slate with 17 kills and middle blocker Ashlee Motola with 14 kills.

Sophomore setter Lindsey Martin returned to the Wildcats' lineup for the first time since suffering a severely sprained ankle in ACU's win over ENMU on Oct. 10, and she responded with 53 assists and one kill.  Freshman setter Malia Plumlee - the LSC South Division Setter of the Week - had 16 kills and 17 digs in the hard-fought match.

Bernhardt continues to lead the Wildcats in kills with 487, while Hartline has 358 and Slate 293.  Junior libero Kellen Morrow leads the team in digs with 394, while Martin leads in assists with 1,048.  Despite missing four matches, Martin still leads the LSC in assists per game at 11.91.  Bernhardt leads in kills and is second in kills per game at 4.64, while Slate is tied for first in the LSC in blocks per game at 1.07.

Angelo State is just 2-2 since Oct. 10 when it pulled off one of the biggest upsets in any sport in LSC history, beating West Texas A&M in five games in San Angelo.  The win snapped the Lady Buffs' NCAA Division II record 77-match winning streak over LSC opponents.

However, the Lady Buffs lost their next two matches, falling to ENMU in five games the next day and then losing to ACU in Abilene in four games on Oct. 14.