ACU tops Eastern in LSC Tournament Semis 3-1
Rodman records 14 kills in losing effort

LAWTON, OKLA. — The Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team (24-8) fell to Abilene Christian University 3-1 (30-26, 31-33, 23-30, 17-30) in the Lone Star Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday, Nov. 12. Eastern got 14 kills out of Emilie Rodman (Sr., MB, Gillette, WY/Western Wyoming CC) but the ACU serve kept the Zias from gaining any momentum in the latter stages of the match.

Anna Bellum (Sr., OH, Albuquerque, NM/Garden City CC) had 10 kills in support of Rodman, but the Zias hit just .126 in the match. Kelley McGinty (Sr., OH, Longview, WA/Whatcom CC) and Grace George (So., MB, Kaaawa, HI/Kahuku HS) added nine kills each in the losing effort.

Amber McCarthy (Jr., S, Huntington Beach, CA/Orange Coast CC) made 24 assists for ENMU, while Margie Goble (Sr., S, San Antonio, TX/Holmes HS) posted 18. Jessica Weeks (Sr., LIB, Brownell, KS/Garden City CC) led the Zias with 17 digs, while McGinty added 14 and Bellum 13.

The Zias thwarted the ACU attack in the first two games, holding it to a .129 percentage through that point. But Abilene caught fire in the third game, hitting .298, and carried the momentum into the fourth to post a .306 percentage. The ENMU block was held to just nine total team blocks in the match, led by George with seven and Rodman with six.

ENMU took the first game 30-26, holding the lead for nearly the entirety of the frame. The second game was the turning point of the match, with ENMU trailing 29-25 late. Eastern rolled off five straight points to take a 30-29 lead, but ACU put out the fire and held on for a 33-31 victory. The Wildcats held a convincing lead throughout the third game, and took the lead midway through the fourth and never looked back to win the match in four.

ACU got 18 kills from Michelle Bernhardt, 15 from Ashlee Motola, and 11 apiece from Amanda Slate and Abbie Lowry. Lindsey Martin had 55 assists in the match to go along with her three aces. Liz Snoddy tacked on five aces as well, as ACU posted 10 aces as a team. The Wildcats were even more successful on the serve than those numbers show, however, as Eastern struggled to get solid offensive opportunities off the Abilene serve all evening.

The Zias still have a solid shot at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, as the latest rankings have them sixth in the South Central region. The tournament field will be set on Sunday, Nov. 14.