FAYETTE, Mo.—The William Woods University volleyball team returns to the court on Wednesday night, as the Owls travel on over Central Methodist University for a tri-match against Bacone College at 6 p.m. and host CMU at 8 p.m.
The Owls (14-11; 5-2 AMC), are coming a tough five-set (25-13, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 9-15) loss against No. 14-ranked Columbia College, as after winning the first two sets, the Cougars battled back and won the last three.
WWU was led by junior
Emily Becker, totaling a match and season-high 19 kills, earned an attack percentage of .531, while also adding 10 digs. Freshman
Abbi McKnelly contributed 11 kills, while
Stephanie Davis added seven.
Freshman setter
Brittney Engelbrecht totaled 43 assists, while senior
Abbie O'Mara led the team on the defensive side of the net, having 11 digs.
Despite the loss, the Owls have still won three out of its last five and seven of its last 11 games. During the last five games, where all three wins have come on straight set sweeps, the team has totaled 202 kills, an attack percentage of .231, 36 service aces, 253 digs and 37 blocks.
Leading the way has been Becker on the offensive side of the net, as the Belleville, Illinois, native, has totaled a team-high 49 kills, while also leading the Owls with a .360 attack percentage.
McKnelly has added 42 kills and an attack percentage of .340, while Davis,
Kristen Bauer and
Abby Ferguson, have contributed 31, 27 and 26 kills respectively.
Engelbrecht has totaled 156 assists the last five games and is second on the team with 44 digs, while O'Mara leads the team in that category, having 69.
On the season, the Owls are led by McKnelly, totaling 246 kills, while Becker has added 231 and Bauer has contributed 207 kills on the year.
Engelbrecht's 883 assists in 25 matches rank the freshman 15
th in the NAIA, while O'Mara's 427 digs, are 29
th best in the NAIA.
First up for the Owls on Wednesday night is Bacone College (6-11; 1-5 Red River Athletic Conference), who will enter the game against WWU dropping seven of its last eight.
On the season, Bacone is led by Jade Tigilau, totaling 233 kills and ranks third on the team in digs, having 165. Latisha Brittenham has contributed 165 kills, while Stephanie Aikins has added 121.
Toree Misa'alefua leads Bacone with 467 assists, while Stephanie Aikens leads the team on the defensive side of the net, having 201 digs.
At 8 p.m., the Owls will take on the Eagles for the third time this year, as in its previous two meetings, WWU won the first game in five sets (25-11, 21-25, 18-25, 27-25, 15-10) and the second outing in straight sets (25-17, 25-23, 25-21).
Like Bacone, Central Methodist (8-15; 1-5 Heart of America Athletic Conference) has had its struggles as of late, dropping eight out of its last nine, with its lone win coming against William Penn in straight sets.
On the season, the Eagles are led by Jordan Jackson's 243 kills and does own a team-high attack percentage of .295. Lindsay Smith has earned 188 kills, while Darcy Latham has added 141 kills.
Melody Hanson and Katelyn Waddell have combined for 719 assists, while Andrea Lopez leads the Eagles defensively, having 421 digs.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores from Fayette, Missouri.
