OLATHE, Kan. -- The William Woods University volleyball team will face its toughest opponent yet this season, as they take on no. 5 MidAmerica Nazarene on Friday afternoon. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
William Woods (8-13) is currently on a four-match losing streak, as they could not manage to win a match on its recent home stand. The Owls have lost their last three matches in straight sets to Culver-Stockton, College of the Ozarks, and no. 22 Columbia College.
Most recently, WWU fell to American Midwest Conference rival Columbia College on Tuesday night. Though the game did not count as an AMC contest, the Owls were still unable to upend the Cougars, as they fell 3-0 (19-25, 23-25, 12-25). Emily Becker led the Owls on the night with a match-high 14 kills.
The Owls will go into Friday's match ranked fourth in the NAIA in total digs with 1,573 digs. Junior libero Abbie O'Mara is second in the NAIA with 540 digs.
MidAmerica Nazarene (16-1) comes into Friday's match ranked fifth in the latest NAIA Volleyball Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Pioneers are on a four-game winning, and most recently defeated Culver-Stockton 3-1 (25-16, 26-28, 25-15, 25-16). In fact, three of the teams that MNU has defeated during its four-match winning streak are teams that have handed William Woods a loss during its current skid.
The Pioneers have defeated Evangel University, College of the Ozarks, and Culver-Stockton, while all three teams have defeated the Owls in the last week plus.
The lone loss on the year for MidAmerica Nazarene was to no. 7 Midland University on Sept. 14. The loss snapped a 12-match winning streak to start the season for the Pioneers.
The Owls will have to avoid the long arms of the Pioneers, as they have collected the sixth-most blocks per match in the NAIA at 2.6. MNU has amassed a total of 162 blocks, the 22nd-highest total in the nation. Britney Grittman's 1.26 blocks per match is the 11th-highest ratio in the country, while her 77 blocks is the 17th-best total in the NAIA.
MidAmerica Nazarene has been an extremely efficient hitting team this season, as there .263 team attack percentage is the 15th-best mark in the NAIA. Emily Hester's .329 attack percentage is tops on the team.
Zoraida Heredia leads the team in kills with 179 kills.
The last time these two met up was during the 2011 season when the Pioneers defeated William Woods 3-2 (22-25, 25-16, 14-25, 25-15, 15-11). MidAmerica Nazarene leads the all-time series 4-1.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this and every game during the 2013 season.Â
