ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Behind another double-double from
Sarah Wehmeyer (Carrollton, Texas), the William Woods University volleyball team almost pulled off an upset of no. 20 Missouri Baptist University, falling 3-2 (23-25, 19-25, 25-21, 26-24, 16-18) on Tuesday night. The Owls also saw double-digit kills from three players, with
Emma Aschenbrenner (Broomfield, Colo.) and reigning AMC Player of the Week
Emily Becker (Belleville, Ill.) each tallying 16 kills.
The Owls jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but the Spartans answered with a 7-1 run of their own to pull in front, 8-5. WWU was able to tie the ball game up, taking advantage of a pair of ball-handling errors from MBU's Ally Krus.
The teams traded the lead back and forth, with Missouri Baptist pulling out to a 24-19 lead.
WWU was able to reel off four straight points but couldn't close out the comeback, falling 23-25.
Missouri Baptist opened up the second set with a huge 9-2 run, with a second 9-2 run later in the set to move to 20-11.
A seven-point run from WWU closed the gap to 20-18, but again the Owls weren't able to finish off the comeback, falling 25-19.
After the intermission, it was a different story, however. The Owls took control of the the third set, winning the first point on a Becker kill and never trailing. WWU claimed the set 25-21 to pull within a 1-2 match score.
The schools traded the lead back and forth through a hard-battled fourth set, evening the match at 2-2 with a 26-24 win.
In the deciding set, Missouri Baptist was able to pull away to a 5-9 margin, but the Owls battled back, uncorking an 8-1 run to take the lead 13-10. And although the Owls weren't able to close out the match, they were able to push the deciding set to extra points before falling 16-18.
The Owls finished with a solid .204 attack percentage, led by Aschenbrenner's .517 mark.
Kristen Bauer (St. Charles, Mo.) also hit 14 kills in the match. Defense was a big statement for the Owls, as four players recorded double-digit digs, led by
Abbie O'Mara (St. Peters, Mo.) with 24.
William Woods continues its road swing on Thursday, as they start the second trip through the conference lineup at Stephens College. First serve for the match is set for 7 p.m.
