ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The William Woods University volleyball team cruised past Harris-Stowe State University on Thursday night, as the Owls defeated the Hornets in straight sets (25-15, 25-14, 25-12).
The Owls (19-13; 6-3 AMC), jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead on the Hornets (4-20; 0-8 AMC), after senior
Kristen Bauer collected one of her seven kills on the night. WWU would extend its lead out to 15-9, after a kill from freshman
Abbi McKnelly, but the Hornets, however, battled back and cut the lead down to four, at 15-11, as Sadie Mosby earned one of her match-high nine kills.
William Woods would gain some breathing room back, as they took a 21-14 lead, as Bauer came up with another kill. From there, WWU was able to handle the Hornets, as they went on for the 25-15, first set victory.
The Owls totaled 13 kills and limited themselves to just three errors in the set, for an attack percentage of .345, while HSSU totaled 10 kills, but had seven errors, which lowered its attack percentage to .094.
It was more of the same story in the second set, as
Stephanie Davis's kill gave the Owls a 10-5 lead. WWU would continue to hold a marginal lead over HSSU, as after being up 17-13, the team closed out the set on a high note, going on an 8-1 run and winning the second set, 25-14.
The Owls played a near perfect second set, as they totaled 15 kills and had just one error, for a match-high attack percentage of .467, while HSSU had nine kills and five errors, for an attack percentage of .118.
It was all William Woods in the third set, as they took a commanding 10-2 lead, after an attack error from the Hornets. The Owls would then push its lead all the way out to 21-7, after
Melanie Bonk earned a kill and they would finish off the Hornets, as they won the set and the match, 25-12.
The Owls totaled 44 kills and a season-high attack percentage of .425 on the night. Leading the way was McKnelly totaling a team-high eight kills, for an attack percentage of .467 and added 11 digs.
Rachel Frabotta posted a career-high seven kills and an attack percentage of .500, while Davis added six kills and team-high attack percentage of .556.
Freshman setter
Brittney Engelbrecht totaled 31 kills and nine digs, while
Abbie O'Mara led the Owls with a match-high 13 digs.
After spending its last eight days on the road, the Owls will finally return home for its regular season finale in a tri-match, as they host No. 19-ranked Evangel University at 12 p.m. and Friends University at 4 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow afternoon for a full preview of the tri-match on Saturday.
