AC volleyball earns first ranked road win in pivotal conference clash

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.