SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team won an intense 5-set match against Southland Conference rival Abilene Christian 20-25, 26-24, 26-24, 14-25, 15-8, at McDermott Center on Sunday afternoon.

It was the first conference and home victory for the Cardinals (5-10, 1-1) who bounced back after a tough loss to Central Arkansas on Saturday. 

The Wildcats (2-13, 0-2 SLC) got off to a great start in the first set.  The set started out very tight, but after being tied 8-8, the Wildcats won nine of the next 12 points, ultimately giving them the 25-20 win.

In the second set, the Wildcats seemed to have all of the momentum on their side, taking an early 6-2 lead.  The Cardinals bounced back though, winning 12 of the next 18 points, including a 6-0 run in the middle of it.  UIW was ahead 22-21, but the Wildcats scored three straight points and were on the brink of a win.  However, Angelique Vidaurri (San Antonio/Southwest HS) came up with a big kill to keep the set alive, then a service ace from Taylor McClelland (Cypress/Cypress Ranch HS) and two kills from Bryaunea Hall (Copperas Cove/Copperas Cove HS ) gave the Cardinals the win in the set.  McClelland's clutch serves were the difference as her ace gave the team set point and both of Hall's kills were set up because ACU struggled to control the serve each time.

The third set was just as intense as the first two.  There were five lead changes and 10 ties.  Again, the Wildcats needed one point to win the set at 24-23, but the Cardinals went on to win the next three points, giving them a 26-24 victory.  A kill by Brittani Dear (La Vernia/La Vernia HS), a solo block by Vidaurri and an ace from Dear gave the set to the Cardinals.

The Wildcats came out with a vengeance in the fourth set. They won six of the first seven points and never looked back.  They took the set, 25-14, and forced a final fifth set.

In the final set, the Cardinals were the ones that started strong.  They led 8-3 early and were very dominant the rest of the way.  An excellent home crowd helped cheer the Cardinals to victory and it finished on a great block by Vidaurri and Meaghan Patterson (Helotes/O'Connor HS).

"Angelique Vidaurri and Brittani Dear had big offensive performances for us today," said UIW head coach Jen Montoya.  "I was also pleased to have so many different players step up their game at the service line.  That made a big impact in the outcome of this match.  It allowed us to close out tight sets go on big points runs at various times."

As expected from a five-set match, the teams were fairly even in the final stats. The Cardinals had six more kills than the Wildcats, but ACU had a 44-point advantage in attack percentage.
Dear and Vidaurri led the Cardinals with 16 kills each while Dear also added 15 digs.  Hall had a big impact on the match getting seven kills and also adding three huge blocks for the Cardinals.  Kaitlyn Brooks (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Austin HS) dished out 25 assists and had 12 digs while McClelland added 23 assists.  Claudia Hernandez (San Antonio/Antonian HS) led the team with 18 digs.

Jennifer Loerch led the ACU attack with 19 kills and added 11 digs.  Sarah Siemens dished out 38 assists and contributed five kills and 13 digs.  Dorothy Swanson led the team with 16 digs and nearly had a double-double with nine kills.

The Cardinals are back in action next Thursday when they travel to Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m.  They remain on the road next Saturday at Northwestern State at 2 p.m.  This was the fourth straight win for the Cardinals over Abilene Christian and the teams will meet two more times this year.
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