ABILENE, Texas – Lamar University was unable to overcome a slow start falling to Abilene Christian, 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-17), Saturday afternoon in Abilene. The loss drops LU to 0-8 overall and 0-3 in Southland Conference play.
 
The Cardinals finished the day posting a .129 attack percentage after recording 35 kills on 101 attempts (with 22 errors). LU also added one ace and three blocks in the match. Sophomore Kaitlyn Gil led the Cardinals in scoring with nine kills, while senior Bre'Ala Box added seven.
 
The Wildcats ended the day with a .389 attack percentage after recording 38 kills on 94 attempts with eight errors. ACU also recorded seven service aces. The Wildcat offense was aided by nine blocks in the match.
 
The Cardinals struggled out of the gate falling behind, 20-7, in the opening set. Big Red had seven kills, but eight errors, in their first 25 attempts (-.040). The Wildcats took advantage with eight kills and no errors in their first 18 swings. ACU held on for the 25-10 victory in the opening set.
 
Big Red was quicker on the attack to start the second set. Behind an offense that produced a kill on 50 percent of its swings early, the Cardinals went on a 7-3 run to build a four point lead at 12-8. Unfortunately, the Cardinals attack cooled off and ACU took advantage. Over the course of their next 11 swings, LU produced just four kills with five errors as the Wildcats forged in front. ACU rattled off a 12-5 run to reclaim the lead and held on for a five-point second set victory.
 
The third match saw the Wildcats grab a four-point lead, 8-4, to open things up. It was a three-point advantage when the Wildcats rattled off an 8-0 run to take a 21-12 lead. The Cardinals battled back late, but ACU was able to keep Big Red at arm's length for the remainder of the match.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday, Feb. 20^th when they host Sam Houston State. The match will begin at 11 a.m. from the Montagne Center.