FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University volleyball team will look to win its fourth American Midwest Conference (AMC) game on Tuesday night, as the Owls welcome AMC newcomer St. Louis College of Pharmacy to Anderson Arena. First-serve is set for 7 p.m.
The Owls (12-9; 3-0 AMC), are coming off a three set (25-22, 25-15, 25-9) sweep over Freed-Hardeman University on September 27
th. The Owls totaled 33 kills in the match, and were led by freshman
Abbi McKnelly having eight kills and a match-high attack percentage of .421.
Abby Ferguson, a St. Louis, Missouri, native, totaled seven kills and an attack percentage of .357, while
Stephanie Davis and
Kristen Bauer each added six.
Freshman setter
Brittney Engelbrecht contributed 27 assists and tied for the team lead in digs with
Abbie O'Mara and
McKenna Hisel, as the trio totaled seven each.
With the win against the Lady Lions, the Owls have now won five out of its last six for the second time this season. This previous stretch of wins happened back on September 5
th though September 12
th, as WWU picked up wins over Johnson & Wales, Avila University, Bethel College, Benedictine University at Springfield and St. Ambrose.
During this stretch of play, William Woods has totaled 238 kills, an attack percentage of .208, 40 service aces and 330 digs.
McKnelly is pacing the team on the offensive side of the net, having 56 kills and a team-high attack percentage of .312. Bauer and Ferguson have each contributed 42 kills, while junior
Emily Becker has added 41 and
Cierra Merz has earned 26 kills.
Engelbrecht is averaging 10.11 assists per set, giving her 192 the last six games, while O'Mara is averaging nearly 5.00 digs per set (4.74), as she has led the Owls with 90.
As a team this year, the Owls continue to rank near the top in the NAIA in numerous categories that include, ranking fourth in digs (1,437), seventh in service aces (150), 12
th in kills (976), 14
th in digs per game (17.960) and 16
th in assists (876).
McKnelly ranks fifth in the AMC and 47
th in the NAIA in total kills (212), while Bauer is seventh in the AMC in kills (186), Becker is eighth (182) and Ferguson comes in a tie for 12
th (145).
Engelbrecht has totaled 754 assists on the year, which is second best in the AMC and eighth in the NAIA, while defensively, O'Mara has earned 365 digs, which ranks the senior first in the AMC and 20
th in the NAIA.
This will be the first ever meeting between the Owls and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, who in its first year in the AMC, are 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the AMC. The Eutectics picked up its first AMC victory back on September 23
rd, as they defeated Harris-Stowe State in four sets (25-18, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18).
On the season, Alyssa Hitpas leads the team with 101 kills, an attack percentage of .179 and has contributed 104 digs, which is third best on the team.
Katie Krajczar has totaled 75 kills, while Kelsey Toler and Ashley Walter have added 57 and 35 respectively. Setter Kaitlyn LaBoube has earned 238 assists and leads the team with 119 digs, while Mallory Mensing has added 116.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Tuesday night for a full recap and scores from Anderson Arena.
