ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.-- The William Woods University volleyball team picked up its second straight win and fourth out of its last five on Saturday afternoon, as the Owls defeated Robert Morris University in straight sets (25-17, 25-23, 32-30).
In the first set, the Owls (18-12; 5-2 AMC), took a 12-6 lead, after getting a kill from senior
Kristen Bauer. The team would extended its advantage out to eight at 20-12, after freshman
Abbi McKnelly picked up a service ace.
WWU would then go on to take the first set 25-17, as
Stephanie Davis capped it off with one of her seven kills on the day.
William Woods totaled 14 kills and an attack percentage of .290 in the first game, while Robert Morris (3-20; 1-8 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference), was limited to 10 kills, as they committed nine errors for an attack percentage of .025.
The two teams' flip-flopped lead changes in the second set, but it was WWU grabbing a 15-14 advantage, after
Abby Ferguson earned a kill.
The Eagles, however, would take an 18-17 lead, after an attack error from the Owls, but that lead did not last long, as WWU rattled off two consecutive points, capped off by a service ace from junior
Emily Becker, which allowed the Owls to jump ahead 19-18.
William Woods would continue to hold a marginal lead over RMU and the Eagles would again get close to continuing the set, as they trailed 24-23, but Bauer closed out the set with a kill, to give the team a 25-23 second set win.
In the second game, the Owls totaled 11 kills, but also had 11 errors, which gave them an attack percentage of .000. RMU, meanwhile, totaled 10 kills for the second consecutive set, but also had nine errors for an attack percentage of .025.
The third set went back-and-forth until the very end, as early on, WWU took a 15-13 lead, after
Cierra Merz collected a kill.
As the set went on, the Owls would maintain its lead, until the Eagles would tie the game up at 19-19, as they got help from two WWU attack errors.
RMU would retake the lead at 20-19, after a service ace from Marta Tabaka, but the Owls went on a 3-0 run, to hold a 22-20 advantage. The Eagles would tie it back up at 22-22, capped off by a kill from Jenna Schudel and from there, the teams' would go point-for-point, not allowing the other team to take the final point of the set.
They would battle until it was all square at 30-30 and then WWU took a one point advantage, at 31-30, after an attack error by the Eagles offense. The Owls would finally put away Robert Morris, as another attack error allowed the Owls to take the set 32-30 and the match.
William Woods totaled 41 kills in the match and were led by Becker, having 11 kills and an attack percentage of .227. Davis contributed seven and an attack percentage of .333, while McKnelly, Bauer and
Melanie Bonk added 6, 5 and 4 kills respectively.
Freshman
Brittney Engelbrecht totaled 39 assists, while senior
Abbie O'Mara led the Owls with a match-high 25 digs.
The Owls will jump back into American Midwest Conference (AMC) play on Wednesday October 22
nd, as the team pays a visit to No. 12-ranked Missouri Baptist University. First-serve is set for 7 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Tuesday afternoon for a full preview of next week's action.
