COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The William Woods University volleyball team looks to remain perfect in the American Midwest Conference as they travel down I-70 to take on Stephens College for a Monday night affair. First serve for this match is set for 7 p.m.
William Woods (12-18, 6-0 AMC) recently dropped all four matches they played at the Grand View University Tournament over the weekend. The Owls suffered a pair of straight set losses to No. 19 Grand View University and Viterbo University (RV) on Friday afternoon, and closed out the tournament by dropping a pair of five-set matches to the University of Jamestown and Ashford University on Saturday.
Emily Becker and Sara Stevenson had quite the weekend for the Owls, as the former Belleville West High School teammates collected three double-doubles apiece.
Becker posted a team-high 51 kills to go along with 55 digs in four matches this weekend. The sophomore's best match came in the tournament finale against Ashford University, where she collected a season-high 20 digs and posted 15 kills on a .265 hitting percentage.
Stevenson, who collected a double-double in each of the final three matches of the tournament, handed out a team-best 150 assists on the weekend and collected 45 digs.
The Owls improved on its impressive dig total this season, as they jumped from seventh in the NAIA in total digs to second after the weekend's tournament. So far on the season, William Woods has collected 2,196 digs. Junior libero Abbie O'Mara leads the team with her 735 digs, a mark that also ranks as the second-highest total in the nation.
Stephens College (5-17, 0-4 AMC) is coming off a straight set loss to AMC foe Williams Baptist College in a Saturday afternoon non-conference match. The Stars have played to an even .500 over its last four matches as they have collected a pair of wins against Harris-Stowe State University and Midway College.
The Stars have a pair of hitters that have each collected over 150 kills this season in Alyssa Beavers and Madison Reale. Beavers leads the team with 152 kills, while Reale is just one off her pace with 151.
As a team, Stephens has struggled on the offensive side of the net as they have hit just .079 this season.
Defensively, the Stars have collected 912 digs on the year. Tanya Avington's 259 is tops on the team this season.
The Owls scored a pair of straight set victories against Stephens College last season and hold a 26-5-1 advantage in the all-time series.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this and every match during the 2013 season.
