Throughts From Regional Volleyball

Regional rankings for volleyball and soccer were released this week as ACU stands in great position in both.

For the volleyball team the regional rankings have been sort-of a sore subject after being left out of the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons despite having a worthy resume. Kellen Mock and her Wildcats finished last season 29-6 and with wins over teams like Pittsburg State and Dallas Baptist who got the automatic invite from the Heartland Conference knocking out ACU.

But so much for last season, this year the Wildcats are on a tear, currently in the midst of a seven game winning streak. They are closing in on their season long 12-game win streak from earlier in the season which included wins over Mesa State, Northwest Missouri State, Nebraska-Omaha, and then No. 11 Emporia State.

The wins over the three MIAA teams may prove big come the end of the season as they hold the strong region records. Currently the four teams ahead of ACU are all teams from the MIAA including top ranked Central Missouri, Truman, Emporia State, and Washburn.

About the regional rankings: The top eight teams earn a bid to the NCAAs which is generally hosted by the top seed. National power West Texas A&M has taken the lone bid from the Lone Star Conference the past two seasons.

The Lady Buffs, have been the Wildcats main antagonist, and sit tied with ACU at 16-8 and 8-0 in the LSC. However, WT has lost more than the normal matches including a sweep from junior college Arkansas-Fort Smith, but the Lady Buffs still hold a 74 consecutive match win streak over conference opponents.

With all that, it makes a Nov. 4 match up with the Wildcats and Lady Buffs just as important. A win would almost assuredly seal the LSC Championships in Abilene, a berth in the NCAA Tournament, and snap their 74-match win streak. However, a loss would send the LSC tournament to Canyon and could again put the Wildcats on the bubble.

Before all the excitement ACU still needs to take care of business which includes matches with East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma this weekend. The Wildcats will be on the road next week at Incarnate Word and Texas A&M Kingsville. Hopefully the Wildcats can recover in time for this weekend’s matches after a 3 hour “lay-over” from Odessa where the Wildcats encountered “bus trouble” for the second time on the road this season.