FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University volleyball team won its first American Midwest Conference (AMC) game on Friday night, as the Owls defeated Williams Baptist College in three sets (25-17, 25-19, 25-23).
Prior to the match beginning, the Owls honored senior
Kristen Bauer, as over the weekend in the Ashford University Tournament, the St. Charles, Missouri, native, became the programs' all-time leader in kills.
In the first set, it was the Lady Eagles (11-4; 0-1 AMC), jumping out to a 9-4 lead on the Owls (9-8; 1-0 AMC), which forced the team to take a timeout.
Out of the timeout, however, the Owls calmed themselves and went on an impressive 16-3 run, as they were able to cap it off getting consecutive kills from freshman
Brittney Engelbrecht and
Emily Becker, to take a 20-12 lead.
Williams Baptist would cut the deficit down to five (22-17), but that was close enough for WWU, as the Owls went on to win the opening set, 25-17.
WWU totaled a match-high 16 kills and an attack percentage of .290 in the first set, while WBC was limited to nine kills and an attack percentage of .091.
The Owls continued to use the momentum they gained, as in the second set, the team jumped out to a 16-7 lead, after
Abby Ferguson capped off the run with one of her two kills on the night.
The Lady Eagles would come back and narrow the lead down to four at 20-16, after an attack error by the Owls, but WWU was able to finish off WBC, closing out on a 5-1 run and take a two game lead, after winning 25-17.
WBC totaled a team-high 12 kills in the second set, had only one error and earned an attack percentage of .458, while the Owls had played another strong set, having 15 kills and an attack percentage of .357.
The third set was back-and-forth early on, but both teams' weren't willing to give way, so they evened out at 13-13 midway through the third set. The two squads would continue to go point-for-point, but it was WWU taking a 23-21 lead, after a kill by Engelbrecht.
Williams Baptist, who was looking to force a fourth set, were able to tie it up at 23-23, after a kill by Kaillie Ralston, but freshman
Abbi McKnelly put to rest any thought of another set, as the Jefferson City, Missouri, native, closed out the set and match with two consecutive kills and give WWU a 25-23 win.
McKnelly and junior
Cierra Merz led the Owls with a team-high 10 kills, while Merz recorded a match-high .692 attack percentage. The duo of Becker and Bauer just missed the double-digit mark in kills, as they totaled nine a piece.
Engelbrecht added another double-double to her resume, having 33 assists and 12 kills, while senior libero
Abbie O'Mara earned a match-high 13 digs.
WBC, meanwhile, was led by Ralston totaling a match-high 11 kills and an attack percentage of .500, while Jordan Harvey contributed 13 assists and Shelby Upshaw led the team in the dig department, having seven.
The Owls will now have a quick turnaround and look to improve to 2-0 in conference play, as they welcome Lyon College to Anderson Arena on Saturday afternoon. First-serve is set for 2 p.m.
After picking up its second win on the 2014 season against Central Baptist on September 16
th, the Scots (2-9; 0-1 AMC), dropped its first AMC game on Friday night, as they fell to No. 4-ranked Park University in straight sets (14-25, 11-25, 17-25).
This season, the team is led by Katarina Frickleton, totaling 71 of the teams' 358 kills on the year. Makenzie Sharp is second on Lyon, having 54 kills, while Jordan Fleitman has added 48.
Setter Emily Sprick has earned 218 assists on the season and leads the team in digs, totaling 83.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores. Â
