SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The William Woods University volleyball team will partake in its second tournament of the year, as they participate in the Evangel University Tournament this weekend. The Owls will start the tournament on Friday as they face Tabor College.
William Woods (1-5) will take on Tabor College, College of the Ozarks and host school Evangel University. The Owls will kick-off this weekend's play against Tabor College on Friday at 5 p.m. The Bluejays stand at 4-1 on the year, most recently defeating Southwestern College 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-13). Tabor does as a victory over a NAIA Top-25 team as they defeated no. 23 Northwestern College 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-25, 15-10) on Aug. 23.
The Owls will pick play back up on Saturday as they take on College of the Ozarks at 12 p.m. and host Evangel University at 4 p.m. The Lady Bobcats are 7-3 on the year, winning three of their last four games after beat Central Baptist College 3-0 (25-16, 25-8, 25-17) on Tuesday night. Evangel University stands at 2-6 and currently on a five game losing streak.
WWU collected its first win of the season on Tuesday as they defeated Lindenwood University-Belleville 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-18) in the 2013 home opener. Emily Becker led the way for the Owls by collected her second double-double on the year with 10 kills and 13 digs.
Becker and junior Kristen Bauer are tied for the team lead in kills with 63 apiece. The duo combined for 17 of the Owl's 31 kills on Tuesday's win over Lindenwood University-Belleville.
William Woods ranks 25th in the NAIA I service aces per set at 2.17. They rank 44th in the country in total service aces with 44. Emily Becker leads the way with 11 aces, yet Bauer is just one off the pace with 10. Â
Also, the Owls 17.2 digs per set average is the 33rd-highest average in the NAIA. Abbie O'Mara's 4.6 digs per set sets the mark for William Woods, while her 106 total digs is also a team best.
Tabor College comes into Friday's match at 4-1 and are on a four-game winning streak, which started with a victory over no. 23 Northwestern College.
Outside hitter Katie Kaufman leads the team with her 55 kills. She has collected double-digit digs in back-to-back games for the Bluejays. Kaufman isn't the only scoring threat for Tabor, as Jessie Vogts and Tena Loewen each have collected over 40 kills on the year.
Setter Hollister Wolf has handed out 173 assists and has yet to make a single ball handling or set error.
College of the Ozarks stands at 7-3 on the year. The Lady Bobcats have defeated John Brown University 3-2 (25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 11-25, 15-10) and Concordia University (Neb.) 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-20), two teams that beat William Woods during last weekend's Bellevue University Labor Day Classic.
As a team, the Bobcats have hit .237 on year. Hanna Meadows leads the team with 95 kills through 11 matches. The outside hitter has collected seven double-digit kill games, including in back-to-back games going into Friday's match.
Host school Evangel University limps into the weekend after losing five straight, dropping its record to 2-6. The Crusaders stand at 0-3 against American Midwest Conference teams this year, after dropping matches to Columbia College, Missouri Baptist, and Park University.
Micah Cribbs paces the team with 91 kills and a .155 hitting percentage. Cribbs has collected just two double-digit games since starting the year with three consecutive double-digit games.
Check back with wwuowls.com for a full recap of each game this weekend.
