FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University volleyball team nearly pulled its biggest upset in program history on Friday night in front of a capacity crowd, however, the No. 13-ranked Columbia College Cougars battled back from a 2-0 set deficit and escaped Anderson Arena with a five-set (25-13, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 9-15) win.
In the first set, the Owls (14-11; 5-2 AMC) were in control right from the get-go, as they jumped out to an 11-7 lead, after a ball handling error from Columbia College (21-4; 5-2 AMC).
WWU would then continue to dominate the Cougars, as they went on a 10-1 run and grabbed a 21-8 advantage, after a set error by Columbia. The Owls then cruised from there, going on to take the first set 25-13.
William Woods played nearly a perfect first set, as they totaled 13 kills and an attack percentage of .444, while limiting themselves to one error. Columbia, meanwhile, had eight kills, four errors and an attack percentage of .129.
In the second set, it was the Cougars this time around taking a 10-4 lead, after a kill from Paula Rosa. The Owls, however, continued to battle back and eventually tied the set up at 20-20, after a service ace from
McKenna Hisel.
The two teams' continued to go point-for-point and they were again all tied up at 23-23, but it was WWU taking the final two points, as the team got a kill from
Stephanie Davis and an attack error from Columbia, to take a 2-0 game lead.
It was another impressive set from William Woods, as they totaled 10 kills and an attack percentage of .409, while even though Columbia totaled 13 kills, they had seven errors, which lowered its attack percentage to .188.
In the third set, Columbia took a 14-10 lead, after a kill from Rosa, who finished the night with a team-high 17 kills and an attack percentage of .355, while adding 13 digs.
WWU would again tie the set up at 15-15, after a service ace from
Emily Becker, who played an outstanding match, having a game-high 19 kills, an attack percentage of .531 and added 10 digs on the defensive side of the net.
The teams' would meet up at 17-all, but then Columbia went on a 4-0 run and gained some breathing room at 21-17, after a kill from Polina Severina.
That advantage for Columbia did not last too long, as WWU went on a 5-2 run and were now down just one at 23-22, after a service error from CC. The Cougars, however, got consecutive kills from Severina and Rosa, to take the third set, 25-22.
Columbia had a big turnaround in the third set when they needed it most, as they totaled 17 kills and a match-high attack percentage of .536, while WWU earned 13 kills and an attack percentage of .250.
It was a battle throughout most of the fourth set, as the Owls looked to pull a huge upset, while Columbia looked to force a fifth set.
After tying it up at 15-15, from a kill by
Abbi McKnelly, the Cougars went on an 8-2 run and took a 23-17 lead over WWU. CC would then get help from an attack error from the Owls and a kill from Brooke Simpson to take the fourth set, 25-18 and force a fifth and final set. Columbia again totaled 17 kills in the fourth set, while WWU had 13 kills.
In the fifth set, both teams' were all squared up at 5-5, but then Columbia took an 11-6 advantage, after a 6-1 run. The Owls would narrow their lead down to four at 13-9, after a kill from Becker, but that would be as close as they would get, as the Cougars went on for the 15-9 set and match win.
McKnelly was the final Owl to earn double-digit kills, as the Jefferson City, Missouri, native, totaled 11 and added an attack percentage of .409. Freshman
Brittney Engelbrecht contributed 43 assists, while
Abbie O'Mara led the Owls with 11 digs.
Columbia, meanwhile, besides Rosa, was led by Simpson, having 16 kills and 10 digs, while Severina added 11. Lydie van Deursen earned 52 assists, while Rosa led the team with 13 digs.
The Owls will return to action on October 15
th in a tri-match at Central Methodist University. First-up is Bacone College at 6 p.m. and then the team will take on host CMU at 8 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Tuesday afternoon for a full preview of this match-up.
