Box Score FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University volleyball team suffered a tough loss on Tuesday night, as after having a 2-0 set lead on Culver-Stockton, the Wildcats battled back and took the final three sets, winning the match in five (25-17, 25-23, 16-25, 22-25, 12-15).
In the first set, the Owls (2-5) and Wildcats (3-2), went point-for-point and were tied up 8-8 early on. WWU, then went on a roll, going on a 12-0 run, capped off by freshman
Abby Ferguson's kill, to give the team a commanding 20-8 lead.
CSC would try to make a late run, but the deficit proved to be too great and the Owls won the first set 25-17.
WWU totaled a team-high 15 kills in the opening set and held an attack percentage of .222, while the Wildcats had seven kills, but totaled eight errors, lowering its attack percentage to -0.029.
In the second set, Culver-Stockton jumped ahead on WWU at 11-8, after a kill by Kamrin Gold. The Owls, however, would battle back and retake the advantage at 15-14, after an attack error by CSC.
The teams' would continue to battle for control as the set went on, but neither team gave way and it was still tied at 17-17. Then, helped out by two Wildcat errors and two consecutive kills by freshman
Abbi McKnelly, the Owls would gain some breathing room at 21-17.
WWU would fend off the charging Wildcats the rest of the set, as a kill by senior
Kristen Bauer put the game away, giving the Owls a 25-23 lead and a 2-0 game advantage. William Woods totaled 13 kills in set two, while limiting themselves to just five errors. CSC, meanwhile, had 11 kills, but totaled a team-high 10 errors.
In the third set, the Wildcats came out on fire, grabbing a 16-4 lead on the Owls and didn't look back, as they got back into the match, winning 25-16.
WWU totaled nine kills in the third set, while Culver-Stockton totaled a game-high 17 kills and totaled just three errors, while its attack percentage was an impressive .467.
The momentum stayed with CSC in the fourth set, as again they jumped on the Owls early, grabbing a 16-9 advantage. WWU, however, clawed its way back into the game and trailed 21-15, after an attack error by Culver-Stockton.
The Owls, then went on a 7-1 run, capped off by a Ferguson kill, to put the deficit down to just one at 22-21 and momentum starting to swing back towards WWU. Culver-Stockton, would not be denied the fourth set, however, as they fended off the Owls and took game four, winning 25-22 and forced a fifth and final set.
WWU got back into the double-digit category in the fourth set (13), but totaled a team-high 10 errors, while Culver-Stockton continued its impressive play, having 15 kills and an attack percentage of .316.
In the final set, it was the Owls this time taking the lead early, as they were up 9-6 over CSC. That lead, however, was short-lived, as the Wildcats went on a 3-0 run, tying the game up at 9-9.
The teams' again kept it tied at 10-10, but then the Owls would retake a 12-10 lead, after kills by Ferguson and
Lauren Rodewald, gave the team a two point advantage. But, after coming back from a 2-0 set deficit, the Wildcats completed the comeback, going on a 5-0 run and winning the set and the match 15-12.
Four Owls totaled double-digit kills on the evening and were led by junior
Emily Becker and Bauer, tying for a team-high with 13 kills. Ferguson had a strong outing, totaling 12 kills, while McKnelly added 11.
Freshman setter
Brittney Engelbrecht recorded another double-double, having 43 assists, while racking up 12 digs. Senior libero
Abbie O'Mara led the team in the dig category on the night, having 26.
The Wildcats were led by Brittany Houghton, totaling a game-high 18 kills and earned an attack percentage of .389. Gold added 15 kills, while Chelsea Rhoades totaled 11. Casey Giovanazzi led the team in assists' with 46, while Abbie Foster contributed 22 digs.
The Owls will look to snap its three-game skid and get back to its winning ways this weekend at the Avila University Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. On Friday, the Owls will take on Johnson & Wales at 10 a.m. and then face host Avila University at 12 p.m.
On Saturday, they will go head-to-head with Bethel College at 10 a.m. and then face fellow American Midwest Conference (AMC) opponent Benedictine University at Springfield at 2 p.m.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Thursday for a full preview of this weekends' action.
