COLUMBIA, Mo. – After a perfect 7-0 start in the American Midwest Conference (AMC), the William Woods University volleyball team will be put up to the test Tuesday night, as the Owls travel down I-70 to face the No. 10
th ranked Columbia College Cougars for a 7:00 p.m. scheduled start.
The Owls (17-9; 7-0 AMC), will look to capture a huge upset on the season, in hopes to remain one of the two teams to stay undefeated in AMC play.
On the season, WWU still sits a top of the conference in several categories, which includes first in kills (1217) and digs (1494), while ranking second in assists (1067) and blocks (155). The team's 1217 kills are also good enough to rank them in the top 10 in the NAIA (ninth).
WWU, recently defeated Freed-Hardeman University in four sets (24-26, 25-11, 25-21, 25-22) before cruising past Central Baptist College in three straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-15) this past weekend.
The Owls are currently on a season-high six game win streak, while pushing its conference record to 7-0. In the team's seven conference wins, they have recorded 306 kills, while earning an attack percentage of .252.
Stephanie Davis has lead the way, totaling 67 kills and averaging 3.19 kills per set, while hitting a .315 attack percentage. The Manchester, Missouri native has also complied a team-high 18 blocks.
Emily Becker is right behind Davis, posting 64 kills and averaging 3.05 kills per set in the Owls seven conference games. The senior, has also amassed a team-high 68 digs, while collecting 11 blocks.
The Owls setter,
Brittney Engelbrecht has handed out 226 assists, while gathering 54 digs and becoming a vital aspect from the service line, recording a team-high 13 aces.
Defensively, freshman
Melanie Kala has proved to be able to step up and make plays in the back row, recording 67 digs with only committing five errors, while
Shelby Hinshaw has contributed 57 digs to help guide the team.
Statistically, both teams' match-up well, as Columbia College enter Tuesday's game with a 17-5 overall record and are currently 5-1 in the AMC. The Cougars lone conference loss came against the No. 3 ranked Missouri Baptist University last week. The Spartans and CC battled all the way down to the wire, as MBU was able to sneak away with the five set win.
However, both teams meet up again this past weekend at the MBU invite and this time, it was the Cougars that came out on top, defeating the Spartans in four and ending the weekend with four straight wins, while only dropping two sets.
On the season, Penny Liu paces the Cougars offensively, amassing 293 kills and is impressively leading the nation with a .414 hitting percentage on the season. She also has recorded 41 blocks and 169 digs.
Some other players the Owls will have to keep an eye on are Amber Graham and Eirini Chatziefstratiadou, as both players have been an impact to the Cougars offense by recording 191 and 175 kills on the year, respectively.
Heredia Sashiko, has been the quarterback for CC, as the setter has collected 784 assists, while averaging 11.3 per set which is good enough for fifth in the NAIA.
Defensively, Mikah Simpson leads the back row with 225 digs, with just 15 errors on the season.
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full recap and score of this AMC rivalry from Columbia, College.
