FULTON, Mo. -- As the match unfolded, the William Woods University volleyball team looked to be following the script from the earlier matchup against Missouri Baptist, but unfortunately the Owls weren't able to complete the fourth set comeback as they fell 3-1 (14-25, 10-25, 25-23, 20-25) to the Spartans.
Sarah Wehmeyer (Carrollton, Texas) handed out 35 assists in the match, with
Emma Aschenbrenner racking up 11 kills on the night.
The Owls came out a bit slow in the first two sets, mustering a .200 attack percentage in the first set and a .174 pace in the second, going into the intermission down 0-2.
WWU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the third set as
Melanie Bonk (Hampshire, Ill.) dropped a huge kill on the Spartans on the first rally and combined with
Emily Becker (Belleville, Ill.) for a block on the second.
The Owls held off a Missouri Baptist spurt, pulling out to 10-6 and holding the Spartans at arms length as they ran the score up to 19-14.
The Spartans were able to pull back to a tie at 20-20 on the strength of a 6-1 run, but
Kristen Bauer (St. Charles, Mo.) picked up a huge kill for WWU to give the Owls a 21-20 lead and they held on for the set win at 25-23.
Neither team was able to pull away as the fourth set opened, dueling to 4-4.
Back-to-back kills from Aschenbrenner gave the Owls a 6-4 lead, but it would be short-lived as the Spartans were able to close to an 8-8 tie and pull away, leaving WWU trailing 10-18.
The Owls tried to claw their way back into the match but were only able to trim three points off the deficit, falling 20-25 in the fourth.
William Woods is back in action this weekend, hosting the Domino's Pizza Triangular. The Owls get the action underway early on Saturday morning, taking on NCAA Division III Fontbonne University at 10 a.m. Fontbonne will battle Missouri Valley College at noon with the Owls closing out the day's action against MVC at 2 p.m.
