The Angelo State volleyball team regrouped after dropping the first set to defeat Abilene Christian, 3-1, Thursday night at the Junell Center/Stephens Arena.
After losing the first set to the Wildcats, 25-21, the 'Belles came back to take the next three sets by scores of 25-21, 25-19 and 25-15. With the win, ASU improves to 14-10 on the season, 3-2 in Lone Star Conference play, while the loss dropped ACU to 14-7 on the year, 2-3 in league action.
The 'Belles actually began their rally near the end of the first set. Facing set point at 24-15, ASU rattled off six straight points before ACU closed out the set on a kill by Michelle Bacon. The momentum generated by the first-set rally carried over to the second set as the 'Belles and Wildcats traded points until the 18-18 mark when ASU took seven of the next ten points to take the set, 25-21.
Set three was almost identical to set two except that the 'Belles took control three points earlier. With the score knotted at 15-15, ASU went on a 10-4 run to take a two sets to one advantage with a 25-19 win in the third.
The 'Belles jumped on the Wildcats to begin the fourth set scoring the first six points. When the Wildcats pulled within three at 13-10, ASU head coach
Chuck Waddington called a timeout and it seemed to settle his troops down. ASU went on a 7-3 run after the timeout to regain control, 20-13, and closed out the match by scoring five of the final seven points for a 25-15 win.
ASU had three players who registered double figures in kills led by freshman
Shelbi Chipman with a match-high 13 kills. Juniors
Alaina Sivells and
Kimber Duncan had 12 kills as the duo hit .393 and .346, respectively, while the 'Belles as a team hit .268 over the final three sets to win for only the second time all season when dropping the first set of a match. Duncan also led all defenders with 20 digs which tied ACU's Jennie Hutt for match-high honors. Hutt led the Wildcats on the offensive end with 11 kills as she was the only ACU player to hit the double-digit plateau.
The win by the 'Belles brought to a halt the Wildcats' 10-match winning streak over ASU. The last win by Angelo State over Abilene Christian was a 3-2 win on Oct. 1, 2002 in San Angelo.
The 'Belles are off until next week when they will play their final non-conference match of the season. ASU hosts Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, in the Junell Center/Stephens Arena. Live stats for the match will be available on AngeloSports.com.