BATESVILLE, Ark. – The William Woods University volleyball team continues its road swing down south, as the Owls get back to its American Midwest Conference (AMC) part of schedule with a match-up against Lyon College on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. before squaring off with Williams Baptist College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
The Owls (11-9; 1-0 AMC), are coming off a five set deficit to College of the Ozarks earlier this week. WWU totaled 67 kills against COFO, as
Emily Becker paced the way with another double-double performance, 20 kills and 24 digs.
Stephanie Davis chipped in 12 kills, while
Abby Ferguson, in her first time wearing an Owl jersey this year recorded 10 kills.
Brittney Engelbrecht, the AMC Setter of the Week, remained red hot, also collecting a double-double by tallying a game-high 48 assists and adding 20 digs, while freshman
Melanie Kala recorded a career-high 45 digs.
On the season, as a team, the Owls lead the AMC in several categories, which includes kills (945), assists (845), and digs (1210) while sitting second in the AMC in blocks with 130.
Leading the way for WWU is Becker, as the senior continues to have a stellar year, recording 239 kills, with an attack percentage of .260 and a team-high 55 blocks.
Engelbrecht, the Owls setter, who earned AMC Setter of the Week honors for the second time this year, has proved why she plays a key role for WWU. The sophomore has amassed 748 assists on the year, which not only sits a top of the AMC but also ranks her eighth in the nation.
Defensively,
Shelby Hinshaw still leads the team with 292 digs, as freshman
Melanie Kala is second on the team with 219 digs and has collected a team-high 21 aces on the year.
Friday, the Owls square off with Lyon College who are currently 7-7 on the season and 3-2 in the AMC. In the Scots last outing, the team defeated John Brown University in a thrilling five set match.
Offensively, Katarina Frickleton paces the way for Lyon with 108 kills and an attack percentage of .297, while Emily Sprick has handed out 297 assists on the year and Madisson Williams, defensively, has posted 151 digs.
Last year, when these two teams' met up on September 20
th, the Owls cruised past the Scots in three straight sets (25-18, 25-9, 25-21), as Ferguson lead WWU with eight kills.
Then on Saturday, to wrap up the two game road trip for William Woods, the team will match-up with Williams Baptist College at 1:00 p.m., who have earned a 8-5 overall record and are 2-2 in the AMC on the season.
The Eagles are coming off a three set swept, earlier this week against Crowley's Ridge College .
On the season, Kaillie Ralston leads WBC offensively with 96 kills, a .245 attack percentage and 16 aces. Taylor Barton, the Eagles setter has collected 85 assists and Jessica Baugh has posted a team-high 85 digs on the season. Another player the Owls will have to keep an eye on is Harley Strayhorn, who leads the team with 44 blocks and ranked 12
th in the NAIA in blocks per game (1.33).
Last year, these two teams met up twice, once in the regular season and then again in the AMC post season tournament, as WWU defeated the Eagles both times, taking the 2-0 season series.
Fans check back on wwuowls.com this weekend for full recaps and scores of these two AMC matches for WWU.
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