Amarillo College’s list of milestone achievements has continued to grow at a rapid rate amid conference play.
The Badgers overcame their fourth first-set loss of the season on Saturday to claim the program’s first ranked road win since the reboot of athletics at AC in 2022.
AC defeated 15th ranked Frank Phillips College in four sets (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-13) on Saturday in Borger.
“It’s difficult on the road to get off the bus and get ready to play at a high level. After the first set, we were focused and played our brand of volleyball,” AC head coach Scott Sandel said. “Our serving helped keep them out of system and that was one of our best blocking games of the season.”
After hitting near a .100 clip and recording one block in the first set against the Plainsmen, AC tallied six blocks and doubled their hitting percentage in the second frame.
Sophomore Jaelynn Jackson had three solo blocks and freshman Delany Galligan put down five kills, swinging the momentum in AC’s favor.
AC secured a 23-19 advantage during what proved to be the match-deciding third set. Frank Phillips proceeded with a 4-0 run to tie the match (23-23).
A Plainsmen hitting error gave AC a 24-23 lead before sophomore Jayli Franklin split the Frank Phillips block for the set-winning kill.
The third frame outcome all but clinched a victory for the Badgers as AC hit a sizzling .650 clip in the fourth set.
Freshman Emery Bryan capped a career week in Borger with 13 kills via a team-best .455 hitting percentage. The Poolville native finished the third week of conference play with 20 kills, four blocks, and a .459 hitting percentage.
Galligan added a team-high 14 kills against Frank Phillips and Jackson totaled a team-best six blocks.
Tyler Pool, Jayli Franklin, and McCall Sims led the team in pass rating as the trio accumulated marks of 2.2 or higher while receiving 61 of Frank Phillips’ 77 serves.
Pool recorded a team-high 2.60 passer rating with seven 3-passes and zero errors on 10 attempts.
The win improved AC’s conference record to 3-3 and 15-6 overall. The Badgers are tied for fourth place with New Mexico Junior College in the WJCAC standings through three weeks of conference play.
The Badgers end the first cycle of conference play with its Pink Out game against Western Texas College on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at home. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the FirstBank Southwest Center.
AC adds another program first in loss to No. 10 NMMI
Despite a four-set defeat (25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 25-18) in Roswell on Oct. 1 against 10th ranked New Mexico Military Institute, AC etched another program-first achievement on their resume.
The Badgers’ third-set victory marked the first time AC was able to take a set from the Broncos in Roswell since the reboot of athletics at AC.
AC led 18-15 during the first set and 19-15 in the second set, but were unable to close out the frames in front of a packed house at the Cahoon Armory.
AC showed significant offensive improvement in the third set with a match-best .375 hitting percentage. Freshman Chayse Wilson had three kills at a .429 clip while Galligan and Bryan recorded a .500 hitting percentage with six combined kills.
Amarillo native Yuna NG put forth one of her top performances of the seasons with eight kills and zero hitting errors on 15 swings (.533 clip). Bryan had seven kills and Galligan led AC with nine kills.
Jackson paced AC in the block department with four stuffs
