Badgers sweep Frank Phillips College for second time

In their final road game of the regular season, the Badger volleyball team's hot streak continued in Borger on Wednesday against Frank Phillips College.

Amarillo College swept the Lady Plainsmen (25-19, 25-17, 25-21) for the second time in as many meetings. The victory secured the Badgers' fourth victory in their past five outings and improved their conference record to 6-7.

"The team has continued to make strides both on and off the court together. We're playing for one another at this point in the season and it has shown in the second cycle of conference games," Amarillo College head volleyball coach Scott Sandel said.

Sophomores Abree Elsheimer and Madison Kellogg led the Badgers offensive attack with 10 kills and 12 kills respectively.

Elsheimer's .320 hitting percentage on Wednesday was her second-highest rate of the season. Kellogg's 12 successful spikes ranks third for the Amarillo native's 2023 campaign and second in conference play.

"They both have been playing really smart volleyball," Sandel added.

The Badgers took an 8-3 lead in set one and maintained at least a three-point advantage the rest of the frame.

AC kill leader Jaron McAden had four spikes at a .429 clip in set one. Kellogg added four kills on 12 swings.

The back row played a near-perfect second set and as a result, the Badgers were in system nearly the entire frame.

The Badgers had no serve receiving errors and 30 successful digs in 33 attempts.

Sophomore libero Taylor Irving paced AC in set two with no errors, nine successful serve receptions, and seven digs.

In the second frame, Amarillo College jumped out to 12-2 lead and maintained a six-point advantage or greater for the remainder of the game.

Adversity struck for the first time in the match in set three. Frank Phillips took a 12-8 lead before the Badgers ensued with a 6-0 run.

An Alicia Torrez ace, Kellogg kill, McAden block, and D'Leah Hill kill propelled the Badgers to a 14-12 advantage, which AC sustained the rest of the match.

Amarillo College deployed three setters in the match as sophomore Carli Colbert was cleared for action coming off her second ankle injury.

Freshman Ellie Okikawa had a team-high 16 assists, followed by Skylar Rivers (12), and Colbert (7).

With Wednesday's sweep, the Badgers maintain a postseason qualification opportunity.

Amarillo College will need to defeat ninth-ranked New Mexico Junior College and hope for a Clarendon College sweep over Western Texas College on Saturday in order to qualify for the Western Junior Athletic Conference four-team tournament.

The Badgers' Sophomore Day and final game of the regular season takes place on Saturday, Oct. 28, beginning at 2 p.m. Amarillo College's first sophomore class in program history will be honored before the match.