Wildcats win Premier Challenge title

Bernhardt, Slate lead ACU past Jennies in championship match

DENVER, Colo. -- What a difference one week makes.

Last weekend the ACU Wildcats were swept in three matches at the Tampa Classic, losing in three games to both No. 7 Central Missouri State and No. 9 Tampa to start their season at 0-3.

But on Saturday at the elite Premier Challenge the Wildcats completed a stunning 4-0 run through the tournament with a five-game win over Central Missouri State in the championship match to win the tournament championship.  The only team to make it through the tournament unbeaten, the Wildcats beat No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul and No. 7 CMSU as well as Regis (Colo.) and Findlay (Ohio) en route to the title.

ACU (4-3) will play its first home match of the season Saturday at 12:30 p.m. when it hosts Wayland Baptist at Moody Coliseum.  The Wildcats will then play Southwest Baptist at 5:30 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.

The Wildcats' two wins over top-seven teams in Denver represent the program's first wins over top-10 teams under seventh-year head coach Brek Horn.

ACU cruised into Saturday night's championship match with a 3-1 semifinal win over Findlay.  ACU won the first two games, 30-17, 30-23, before falling 30-26 in the third game.  ACU then closed out the match in the fourth game, winning 30-26.

Michelle Bernhardt -- who had 84 kills in the four matches and is the first Wildcat to ever top the 1,700-kill mark in her career -- had 18 kills and 15 digs in the win over Findlay, while Amanda Slate had 17 kills and four blocks.  Both players were named to the all-tournament team, although neither was named the tournament MVP, despite playing for the tournament champion.

Ashlee Motola had 14 kills and Abbie Lowry 12 in the match, while Lindsey Martin continued to build on her all-time lead in assists with 52.  ACU, whit hit .281 in the tournament, hit .290 in the win over Findlay.

That win set up a rematch with the Jennies of CMSU, who easily handled ACU last Friday in the Tampa Classic, winning in three games.

But this one was different from the outset as ACU took the first game, 30-25, before dropping the next two by the scores of 33-31 and 30-27.  But the Wildcats rallied behind the tandem of Bernhardt and Slate to win the final two games, 30-24 and 18-16.  Bernhardt finished with 27 kills in the match, while Slate pounded down a career-high 25 for the Wildcats.

Motola had 16 kills, six digs and two total blocks, while Lowry had 17 kills, five digs and two total blocks in the win.  Martin was the floor leader with 70 more assists for the Wildcats.

ACU hit .251 as a team (92 kills) in the win over CMSU, the favorite to win the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) championship in 2005.