FULTON, Mo. -- The William Woods University volleyball team split a pair of matches in the 2012 Domino's Pizza Triangular on Saturday. The Owls won the first match 3-0 (25-7, 25-5, 25-17) against Fontbonne University and dropped the second match in five sets to Missouri Valley College, losing 2-3 (23-25, 21-25, 25-13, 25-23, 8-15).
Freshman
Emily Becker (Belleville, Ill.) paced the Owls offense in both matches on the day collecting a combined 30 kills, while hitting .259.
Senior
Sarah Wehmeyer (Carrollton, Texas) totaled 79 assists and senior
Amanda Henley (Jefferson City, Mo.) collected 37 digs for both matches.
During the morning session William Woods won in dominating fashion with a 3-0 (25-7, 25-5, 25-17) scoreline over Fontbonne University.
Becker hit the double-digit plateau for the first time in two matches with 14 kills. Wehmeyer handed out 33 assists, while sophomore
Abbie O'Mara (St. Charles, Mo.) paced the defense with 15 digs.
As a team, WWU hit .330 on the morning and held Fontbonne to a -.038 hitting percentage.
William Woods was sparked by a 9-0 run to start the first set and never looked back, building its lead to a set-high 20-4 before taking the set 25-7.
The Owls only needed five spots in the service order to defeat the Griffins 25-5 in the second set.
WWU got off to another fast start in the third set, taking an 11-5 lead off of a
Melanie Bonk (Hampshire, Ill.) kill.
Fontbonne would respond with a 9-3 run tying the game at 14-14, but the Owls would respond with a run of their own.
William Woods went on an 11-5 run to close out the match with a 25-17 win.
In the afternoon match WWU used a furious comeback to force the match to five sets before losing 2-3 (23-25, 21-25, 25-13, 25-23, 8-15) against Missouri Valley College.
Wehmeyer set a new personal best with 19 digs on way to her 16th double-double on the season (46 assists, 19 digs). Becker landed 18 kills to pace the Owls offense. Henley collected a match-high 28 digs.
William Woods found itself down 0-2 after two closely played sets, but jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the third set en route to a 25-13 victory forcing a fourth set.
WWU was able to get off to another fast start in the fourth set going up 11-7 after a Becker kill.
Missouri Valley would then go on a 11-5 run to tie the game take a 18-16 lead, but the Owls were able to mount a comeback and win the set 25-23 forcing a fifth set.
In the decisive set William Woods was not able to overcome an 8-5 deficit at the switch and lost 15-8.
With the split on the day William Woods keeps its record at two games above .500 at 19-17 on the year.
Missouri Valley defeated Fontbonne University during the second match of the day 3-0 (25-11, 34-32, 25-11). The two wins improve the Vikings record to 16-11.
With the pair of losses, Fontbonne University drops to 9-19 on the year.
William Woods returns back into American Midwest Conference action on Monday night as they travel to Park University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
