ELGIN, Ill.—The William Woods University volleyball team went 1-1 at the Judson University tri-match on Friday night, as the Owls were swept by Clarke College in three sets (19-25, 18-25, 20-25), but responded with a four set (25-15, 25-21, 18-25, 25-16) victory over host Judson University in the nightcap.
Clarke College 3 William Woods University 0 In the first set, the Crusaders (18-9; 2-1 Midwest Collegiate Conference), held a marginal lead at 17-14 over the Owls (17-12; 5-2 AMC), after a kill from Elle Kosciuk.
WWU, however, would narrow the advantage down to one (17-16), after getting help from a service error by Clarke College and a kill from
Abby Ferguson. The Crusaders were able to fend off the charging Owls, as they closed out the first set on an 8-3 run and went on for the 25-19 win.
The Owls totaled 13 kills in the first set, but had nine errors, which lowered its attack percentage to .105. Clarke College, meanwhile, had a team-high 14 kills, while limiting themselves to three errors, for an attack percentage of .297.
In the second set, it was Clarke again jumping out to an early lead over WWU, as the Crusaders took an early 15-9 lead. As the set continued on, the Owls were able to chip into the Crusader lead and tied it up at 17-17, after an attack error from Clarke College.
A kill from Hannah Dentlinger gave the Crusaders the lead back and they wouldn't relinquish it the rest of the set, as they went on for the 25-18 win and in the process took a 2-0 game lead over WWU.
The Owls had nine kills in the second set, while errors continued to be a problem, as they had eight to go along with an attack percentage of .029. The Crusaders, however, had 13 kills and an attack percentage of .212.
In need of a win in the third set, the game did not start out how the team would have liked, as Clarke College took a 15-8 lead, after a kill from Dentlinger. The Owls, however, continued to battle, as despite the slow start, they were able to narrow the lead down to two at 21-19, after a kill from senior
Kristen Bauer.
That, however, would be as close as the Owls would get, as the Crusaders fended off WWU and held on for the 25-20, set and match win.
The Owls, totaled 37 kills in the match against the Crusaders and were led by junior
Emily Becker, as the Belleville, Illinois, native totaled a match-high 12 kills and earned an attack percentage of .524.
Bauer contributed nine kills, while
Abbi McKnelly and
Stephanie Davis each added five. Freshman setter
Brittney Engelbrecht totaled 32 assists, which gave the Jefferson City, Missouri, native, over 1,000 assists on the year. On the defensive side of the net, senior libero
Abbie O'Mara led the Owls with a match-high 22 digs.
William Woods University 3 Judson University 1 Things were back-and-forth early on between the Owls and Eagles (16-10; 7-2 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference), as both teams' battled to an 11-11 tie. William Woods would then gain some breathing room, as they would rattle off a 5-0 run and take a 16-11 lead, after a kill from Engelbrecht.
WWU would then close out the set in dominating fashion, going on a 9-4 run and win the first game 25-15.
The Owls earned a match-high 16 kills in the first set, while holding themselves to just two errors and had an attack percentage of .400. The Eagles struggled in the first set,
having nine kills and seven errors, for an attack percentage of .050.
In the second set, WWU jumped out to a fast start, as they took a 10-3 lead, after a kill from Becker. The Eagles were knocked down early, but not out, as they responded with a 10-3 run and tied the set up at 13-all, after an attack error by the Owls.
The teams' would go point-for-point, before they would meet up at 17-17. A service error from Judson University, gave WWU an 18-17 lead and from there the Owls would go on for the 25-21 set win.
The Owls totaled 11 kills and an attack percentage of .200 in the second set, while JU had 11 kills as well, but had two more errors than the Owls (7-5), which lowered its attack percentage to .138.
In the third set, the Eagles went out ahead 16-7, after getting a kill from Taylor Lesner. The Owls, however, would crawl back into the set and now trailed 22-17, after an attack error by JU.
The Eagles were able to finish what they started in the set and go on for the 25-18 win, which forced a fourth set between the two squads.
Judson University totaled 14 kills and a team-high attack percentage of .321 in the third game, while WWU had 12 kills, four errors and an attack percentage of .276.
After taking a 10-9 lead to start the fourth set, it was all WWU from then on, as they went on an impressive 11-0 run and cruised to a 25-16, set and match win.
William Woods totaled 53 kills in the match and were led by Becker for the second consecutive outing, as the junior totaled 13 kills, an attack percentage of .241 and 14 digs. Davis added 11 kills and an attack percentage of .476, while McKnelly was the third Owl having double-digit kills, earning 10.
Engelbrecht had 39 of the teams' 49 assists, while defensively, O'Mara led the Owls with a team-high 17 digs.
The Owls will return to the court tomorrow afternoon, as the team takes on Robert Morris College. First-serve will start at 1 p.m.
The Eagles (4-19; 2-8 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference), snapped its seven game losing streak its last time out, as they defeated Trinity International in five sets (15-25, 25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 15-9).
On the season, RMU is led by Allyson Murray's 139 kills, while Jenna Schudel has added 117 kills and has also added 126 digs defensively.
Katie Rotkovich leads the team in assists, having 323, while Jordan Wooden has contributed 209 on the year. Megan Tompkins, meanwhile, leads the team on the defensive side of the net, having 201 of the teams' 978 digs.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow evening for a full recap and score from Arlington Heights, Illinois.
