FULTON, Mo.—After suffering a tough loss against Lindenwood University-Belleville on October 2
nd, the William Woods University volleyball team will look to get back to its winning ways, when the Owls host Stephens College on Tuesday night. First-serve is set for 7 p.m.
The Owls (13-10; 4-1 AMC), suffered its first American Midwest Conference (AMC) loss against the Lady Lynx, as LU-Belleville escaped with a five-set (19-25, 25-19, 23-25, 28-26, 11-15) win.
Junior
Emily Becker led the Owls on the night, totaling a season-high 17 kills, had an attack percentage of .256 and added 11 digs. Freshman
Brittney Engelbrecht contributed 29 assists and 14 digs, while
McKenna Hisel earned 10. Senior
Abbie O'Mara led the team on the defensive side of the night, totaling a match-high 26 digs.
On the season, as a team, the Owls have totaled 1,572 digs, which is seventh best in the NAIA and first in the AMC. WWU also ranks in the top 30 in the NAIA in other numerous categories, including 11
th in service aces (160), 12
th in digs per game (17.86), 13
th in kills (1,063), 19
th in assists (950), 29
th in service aces per game (1.82) and 29
th in total blocks (166.0).
Individually on the year, freshman
Abbi McKnelly leads the Owls with 226 kills, which is sixth best in the AMC, while her .229 attack percentage places her 12
th overall in the conference.
Emily Becker is seventh in the AMC in kills (205), while senior
Kristen Bauer is in the top 10 (9
th), having 200 kills on the season. Freshman
Abby Ferguson has also made a strong impact thus far, having 158 kills, which is 16
th best in the AMC.
Becker also ranks fifth overall in service aces in the conference, having 34, while coming in at No. 10, with a .237 attack percentage.
Engelbrecht, meanwhile, has earned 818 assists, which places her second in the AMC and ninth overall in the NAIA. The Jefferson City, Missouri, native, is also second on the Owls with 295 digs, which is fifth best in the AMC.
O'Mara, a St. Peters, Missouri, native, leads the Owls defensively, as she ranks second in the conference and 18
th in the NAIA, with 405 digs.
In 33 matches against Stephens College (7-9; 2-4 AMC), the Owls have found plenty of success, collecting 27 wins.
After going 6-24 and 1-10 in the AMC last year, the Stars have already surpassed last years' win total, having seven wins overall and two of which coming in conference play. The first came against St. Louis College of Pharmacy on September 18
th, while the second was against Harris-Stowe State on September 30
th, both were four-set match victories.
On the season, the Stars are led by Kerri Kircher totaling a team-high 142 kills, while Samantha Phegley has collected 101 kills and 107 digs, which are both second best on the team.
The duo of Danielle Craven and Phegley have combined for 469 assists, while defensively, Suhey Campos has earned 220 digs.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores from Anderson Arena.
