KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The William Woods University volleyball team will look to snap its three-game skid this weekend at the Avila University Tournament and pick up some important wins, with American Midwest Conference (AMC) play starting up in two weeks.
The Owls (2-5), are coming off a tough five-set (25-17, 25-23, 16-25, 22-25, 12-15) loss, against Culver-Stockton College on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats battled back from a 2-0 deficit, to win the final three sets and steal a win from WWU inside Anderson Arena.
Junior
Emily Becker and senior
Kristen Bauer led the Owls in the kill department, totaling a team-high 13, while freshman
Abby Ferguson added 12 and
Abbi McKnelly contributed 11 kills. Freshman setter
Brittney Engelbrecht tallied another double-double to her resume', as she totaled 43 assists and 12 digs, while senior
Abbie O'Mara led the Owls in defensive digs on the night, having a season-high 26.
"I think this past week we have learned about ourselves, as the freshman have started to understand that you need a sense of urgency, with teams' not handing you games in college," said head coach
Monica Herschelman. "It's been a good learning experience though, we just need to learn, grow and move on, as we have a good weekend ahead of us, with a chance to put our practice into play and finish every game strong from here on out."
On the season, the Owls have totaled 327 kills (11.28 k/set), and are led by freshman McKnelly, having 72 in seven matches played. Bauer is second on the team, totaling 63 kills, while Becker is right behind her fellow outside hitter, earning 62. Ferguson, meanwhile, continues to have a strong 2014 season, ranking fourth on the team in kills (46) and fifth in digs (40).
Engelbrecht, has totaled 258 assists on the year, ranking her 31
st in the NAIA, while her 83 digs, rank her second on the team, as she trails O'Mara by four (87).
At 10 a.m., on Friday, the Owls will take on a Johnson & Wales (Colo.) team, which is off to a 5-3 start to the 2014 season. After going 1-2 in its first three games, the Wildcats went on a four-game winning streak, defeating the likes of Bethel, Dickinson State, Valley City State and Dakota State, before Dakota Wesleyan halted the winning streak, defeating the Wildcats in four sets (22-25, 16-25, 25-18, 16-25).
On the year, Johnson and Wales are led by Kelley McLain's 65 kills in eight matches. Danica Lawrence is second on the squad with 60 kills and an attack percentage of .287, while Demi Coca and Danielle Giannini have contributed 51 and 50 respectively.
Setter Karli Rich has totaled 105 sets on the year, while Veronica Gibbs leads the team in digs, earning 124.
At 12 p.m., the Owls will take on host Avila University, who after winning its season opener against York (Neb.) in four sets (25-17, 16-25, 18-25, 21-25), the Eagles have dropped four straight matches, falling to Ottawa University (2-3), Calumet (2-3), Sterling (1-3) and Park University (0-3).
On the season, Olivia Stine paces the offense, having a team-high 51 kills and an attack percentage of .240, while Anna Woods is right behind Stine, totaling 48 kills and a team-high 85 assists. Ariana Linnenbrink is second the team with 81 assists, while Sarah Braun has totaled a team-high 96 of the teams' 309 digs.
On Saturday at 10 a.m., the Owls will face a Bethel College (1-4) team, that is coming off its first win on the season, as they defeated Bethany College in five-sets (11-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-11).
Prior to that, the Threshers, dropped its first four games, but are still led by McKayla Brezina, earning a team-high 31 kills. Emma Hilgenfeld is second on Bethel with 24 kills, while Jennifer Van Horn has added 18.
Setter Ashley Dishon leads the team with 89 assists and has contributed 36 digs, which ranks her second on the team, trialing leader Monique Sutton by seven (43).
The finale of the Avila University Tournament will put the Owls face-to-face with fellow American Midwest Conference (AMC) foe, Benedictine University at Springfield, with first-serve being at 2 p.m.
The Bulldogs (0-4), are still in search of its first win on the season, as they have fallen to Graceland (0-3), Mount Mercy (0-3), Robert Morris (1-3) and Lincoln Christian (0-3) to start the 2014 season.
Bryanna Stevens leads the offense with 20 kills, while Sydni Rohlfs and Chelsey Jackson have contributed 17 and 15 kills. Jaiden Fagrie has contributed a team-high 43 assists and Baylee O'Donnell leads the team in digs, having 56.
"It's extremely important to play strong this weekend and not play down to the competition," said Herschelman. "These teams', they might not look good on paper, but they are still going to be strong in their respective areas."
She added, "We have to execute our game plan and play William Woods volleyball that we have been playing for all season long. We then need to carry that over towards MidAmerica Nazarene, who will be ranked when they arrive at our gym next Tuesday and I expect our kids to play well and execute at a high level."
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and scores from Kansas City, Mo.
