Continuing its trip through the back half of the American Midwest Conference schedule, the William Woods University volleyball team visits Columbia College on Saturday for a noon duel.
Last Time Out
William Woods posted a decisive 3-0 win over Stephens College on Thursday night. The Owls capitalized on the momentum from a highly-charged match at Missouri Baptist and were led by
Emma Aschenbrenner with 12 kills.
Amanda Henley added 17 digs on the night.
AMC Player Of The Week
Freshman
Emily Becker was named the AMC Player of the Week for the week ending September 30. Becker averaged better than four kills a set last week with a hitting percentage of .340 in leading William Woods to four AMC wins during the stretch. The freshman averaged 14.42 kills per match with six double-digit kill matches. In a four set win over Westminster College, Emily posted a career-high 20 kills and added six digs and three aces. Earlier in the week the versatile freshman picked up a double-double against Lindenwood University-Belleville and was two blocks short of a triple-double with 12 kills, 14 digs and eight blocks. On the week Emily notched 101 kills, 59 digs, 14 service aces, five solo blocks and 18 block assists.
Chasing History
A pair of Owls are chasing both all-time and single-season milestones within the next few games.
Senior libero
Amanda Henley needs only 11 digs to become second all-time on the career digs list. Henley currently has 1,953 digs and is chasing Skye Wade who finished her Owls career with 1,964 digs. Barring injury, Henley should pass Wade in Saturday's match at Columbia College. The top spot on the list is not entirely out of reach, although it will be a challenge for Henley. The senior needs 249 digs to catch Abby Funderburk at 2,202 for her career.
"It's quite an accomplishment for her since she's only been a libero for three years," said coach
Monica Herschelman. "There was an excellent libero ahead of her during her freshman season and (Amanda's) done really well just wanting to improve every year. She leads our defense for sure, but she also has a strong defense around her. She has the ability to dig every ball, but she doesn't have the pressure to dig every ball. She's a great leader on and off the floor for her. Hopefully she'll reach the 2,000-dig mark soon and continue on to the top spot."
Freshman
Emily Becker needs only 50 more kills to crack the top 10 single-season kills list. Becker currently has 311 kills. She is currently averaging 3.49 kills/set which puts her on pace to finish second on the single-season list.
Back To The Top
After a solid outing on Thursday night, the Owls returned to the top spot in the NAIA for total digs, with 1,724 on the year. As a team, William Woods ranks in the top 20 for the NAIA in five different categories. The Owls rank 13th in digs/set (18.15), 15th in total kills (1098), 16th in total service aces (153) and 16th in total assists (971).
The Owls have three players ranked in the NAIA top 45 in seven different categories. Senior
Amanda Henley ranks fifth with 480 digs on the year, 13th in digs/set with 5.45 and 31st in service aces with 35. Senior
Sarah Wehmeyer ranks fifth in total assists with 863. Freshman
Emily Becker rounds out the trio ranking 17th in total kills (311), 43rd in total blocks (76) and 43rd in kills/set (3.49).
AMC Leaders
The Owls are the top team in the AMC in total digs (1,724) and digs/set (18.5). Senior
Amanda Henley leads the AMC in total digs (463) and digs/set (5.45).
Hot Of Late
Despite losing a tough five-set match at Missouri Baptist, the Owls have won 10 of their last 11 and 12 of their last 15 matches to move to 14-13 on the year.
Previous Matchup
The Owls pushed the Cougars to the brink in the first set of the previous matchup between these two teams before falling 3-0 (24-26, 16-25, 15-25). Freshman
Emily Becker led the Owls attack with nine kills and a .214 attack percentage, adding 12 digs on the night.
Amanda Henley collected 11 digs in the contest.
Coaches Corner
"Columbia is a good team - they're ranked third in the nation for a reason - but we're going to go in there and just play the William Woods brand of volleyball. Whatever team comes out on top is obviously the better team on the day, but we're looking for a strong performance from our hitters -
Kristen Bauer and
Emily Becker - and obviously
Sarah Wehmeyer and
Amanda Henley are strong leaders on the floor for us. It's going to be a fun match. It's their homecoming, but we want to go in there, give them a strong game and show them that WWU volleyball is a threat to be contended with."
