CLINTON, Iowa – The William Woods University volleyball team will be traveling to the Hawkeye State as they will participate in the Ashford University Tournament this weekend. First match is set for 3 p.m. against nationally ranked Viterbo University.
William Woods (3-7) is coming off its first American Midwest Conference win of the season as they defeated Benedictine University at Springfield 3- (25-11, 25-16, 25-11) to start the AMC portion of its schedule at 1-0.
The Owls will be up against stiff competition on the first day of the tournament as they will go up against no. 13 ranked Viterbo University at 3 p.m. and Graceland University at 5:30 p.m.
Viterbo is 11-2 on the year, with its only losses coming against no. 5 MidAmerica Nazarene and no. 8 Midland University. Alicia Olsen leads the team in kills with 165, a total that ranks as the 17th-highest total in the NAIA.
As a team, Viterbo ranks 14th in the country in hitting percentage with a .258 success rate. They have been an efficient hitting team this season as they are averaging 13.3 kills per set. The Hawks are riding a six-game winning streak going into Friday's match.
Graceland University is 10-3 on the year, they recently dropped a match to Baker University, who defeated William Woods 3-0 a couple of weeks ago at the Bellevue University Tournament.
The Jackets have been one of the premier service ace team this year in the NAIA. There 116 total service aces ranks as the third-highest total. While Denise Atualevao leads the entire country in service aces with 43.
Graceland has been one of the better defensive teams in the nation, as there 18.4 digs per set ranks as the 15th-highest total. They have amassed 810 total digs on the year.
Fans can keep up with this weekend's events by going to the tournament webpage by clicking the link here.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of this and every game during the 2013 season.
