FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University volleyball teams' 2014 season gets underway on Tuesday night, as the Owls will host a tri-match with William Penn and Central Methodist University. First-serve begins at 4 p.m. against William Penn.

The Owls are coming a 14-22 overall record last year, but finished fourth in the American Midwest Conference (AMC), after posting an 8-3 record against its AMC counterparts. The team, however, was knocked out in the first round of the AMC Tournament, as after coming back from a 2-0 deficit, No. 5 seeded Freed-Hardeman University fended off WWU and took the fifth and final set 15-12.

This season, the Owls are ready to get the 2014 year started, as with the quality returners back again and the new talent added to the roster, this team is poised for a run at the AMC title.

Leading the way for WWU will be the trio of Kristen Bauer, Emily Becker and Abbie O'Mara. Bauer, a St. Charles, Missouri, native, and one of three seniors on the team, was named to the All-AMC honorable mention team for the third consecutive season, as she posted a career-high 378 kills in 2013. She also collected her 1,000^th career kill on Oct. 30^th against Harris-Stowe.

Becker, a Belleville, Illinois, native, was named to the All-AMC first team after posting 462 kills in 2013, which was the second-most in the AMC and the second-highest single-season total in school history. Defensively, the junior totaled 307 digs, which was fifth-best on the Owls and for her stellar play on the court, Becker was named to the NAIA All-Region honorable mention team.

O'Mara, is coming off a spectacular 2013 season, as not only was she named to the All-AMC for the first time in her career, but was also named AMC Libero of the Year, after she totaled 861 digs, which was second-best in the NAIA and a WWU single-season school record.

Now, after numerous practices and scrimmages against each other, the Owls are ready to show off its talent this year, starting on Tuesday night.

"I think the team is excited to play somebody different from across the net," said head coach Monica Herschelman. "We have a big weekend coming up, so these two matches will help us get some lineups figured out, while playing on our court, in front of the home crowd, is always nice to start the season."

First-up for the Owls will be William Penn University (0-2), who are looking to improve off last year's 15-30 overall and 1-5 Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) record. The Statesmen got its 2014 season started this past weekend, however, the team dropped its opener against Presentation (S.D.) in four sets (1-3) and then fell in a five-set thriller against Peru State University (2-3).

Kayce Skocko stood out for the Statesman in the two matches, as the senior outside hitter led the team in kills (28) and attack percentage (.263). Coming off a 328 kill 2013 campaign, junior Kylie Giger has totaled 21 kills and is tied for the team lead in serving aces, having four.

Junior setter Leyra Jusino contributed 74 assists last weekend, while Danielle Breeher leads the way on the defensive side of the night, totaling 34 digs.

"They seem like a scrappy team from when we played last year," said Herschelman. "They also have a couple new kids that are really making an impact thus far," she added.

Central Methodist (1-3), meanwhile, picked up its first win on the season against Valley City Sate, on August 22^nd, winning in four sets (3-1). The Eagles, however, have dropped its last three matches, falling to Morningside (0-3), Mayville State (2-3) and Briar Cliff (1-3).

Freshman outside hitter Darcy Latham leads the Eagles with a team-high 19 kills and is second on CMU with an attack percentage of .234. Senior Jordan Jackson has totaled 18 kills and holds a team-best .277 attack percentage.

Setter Melody Hanson has totaled 31 assists, while Andrea Lopez leads the Eagles in the dig department, having 36.

"Coach Allison Jones-Olson has done a good job with that team and they have some outside hitters that we have seen before, so we are excited about getting to prep ourselves for them. In my opinion, if we play our game on Tuesday, we will be fine," said Herschelman.

Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores from Anderson Arena.

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