Box Score
FULTON, Mo. -- Junior Abbie O'Mara's record-breaking-performance wasn't enough to lift the William Woods University volleyball team to a victory over No. 25-ranked Missouri Baptist University, as the Owls dropped a 3-0 (22-25, 20-25, 11-25) decision on Friday night.
With her 14th dig of the night, O'Mara set the school record for most digs in a single season, passing Skye Wade's total of 804 set back in 2009. The St. Peters, Mo., native ended the night with 16 digs to set a new single-season school record with 807 digs. There is at least two matches left for William Woods (14-20, 8-2 AMC) this season, giving O'Mara a chance to put more distance in between first and second place.
Missouri Baptist (26-6, 9-2 AMC) beat the Owls in their own game on the night, as they collected more digs than a WWU defense that entered the match with the fourth-most digs in the NAIA, at 44-39.
The Spartans were led by Taylor Cook's 12-kill performance, as the outside hitter posted an even .500 attack percentage. William Woods was led by Kristen Bauer's nine kills, with Emily Becker coming up with eight.
WWU held a brief 5-4 lead in set one, but after the Spartans were able to tie the set at 5-5 they went on an 8-2 run to take a 13-7 lead, forcing a William Woods timeout. Missouri Baptist tact on two more points out of the timeout to extend its run to 7-0. The Owls halted the run there and tallied three straight points to bring them within five at 15-10. MBU pushed its lead to nine at 19-10, before WWU used a 10-2 run to pull the set within two points at 22-20. That would be as close as the Owls would get, as the Spartans closed out set one with a 25-22 victory.
William Woods held a 6-1 lead after the first seven points in set two to force the Spartans to take a timeout. Out of the break, Missouri Baptist scored nine of the set's next 12 points, taking its first lead in the set at 10-9. The Owls were able to tie it up at 12-12, but a 4-0 MBU run pushed the Spartan lead out to four at 16-12. Â Missouri Baptist extended its lead to 20-15, before the Owls to pull within three at 22-19. After trading a pair of points, MBU closed out the set scoring two straight points as they earned the 25-20 win.
The Owls trailed 16-10 in the third set, before Missouri Baptist used a 9-1 run to score the 25-11 set three victory, taking the match in straight sets.
With the loss William Woods falls to fourth place in the American Midwest Conference with one match remaining.
It will be an important match for the Owls, as they host No. 13 Park University on Wednesday night. It will be 'Greek Night' at Anderson Arena, as the first 150 fans will receive a free pizza. The largest and loudest Greek organization in attendance will receive a free pizza party courtesy of the William Woods University volleyball team. First serve for the match is set for 7 p.m.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full preview and recap of this and every match during the 2013 season.
