FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University volleyball team had its 2015 season come to a close on Tuesday night, as the Owls, who were the No. 4 seed in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament, fell to the No. 5 seeded Williams Baptist College in straight sets (16-25, 22-25, 24-26).
The Owls (22-14, 9-3 AMC), found itself down 14-8 early in the first set, after a kill from WBC Ralston. WWU would be able to pull within four of the Lady Eagles (18-14), after
Abby Ferguson earned a kill. Williams Baptist was able to maintain its lead and go on a 7-2 run to close out the first set, capturing the 25-16 win.
William Woods recorded 10 kills in the first frame, but committed eight errors, ending the set with an .067 attack percentage. WBC, statically, had its best set of the match, collecting 12 kills and an attack percentage of .308.
In the second set, the Owls knew they needed to equalize this match with a necessary set win, going point-for-point with the Lady Eagles early in the set,
Lauren Rodewald would help the Owls tie things up 11-11 with a huge kill from the right side of the court. Later in the hard fought set between both teams, WBC committed an attack error, to knot the set back up again at 18-18.
After another clutch kill from Rodewald, the Owls regained the 19-18 lead and gave the team a boast of energy. However, the Lady Eagles capitalized on back-to-back WWU attack errors to take the 21-19 advantage and then went on to secure the 25-22 set two win, giving WBC the 2-0 match advantage.
Down two sets to zero, the Owls were in a do or die third set, as both teams came out battling back and forth. An
Emily Becker kill, would help the Owls tie the set up 12 all. Then WWU took the largest lead of the set (15-13), with a kill from
Cierra Merz.
Both teams battled head-to-head over the next eight points, as the frame remained close. WBC would reclaim its lead at 23-19, after a 5-1 run of their own gathering the set momentum. That didn't phase the Owls, as the team proved all year long they weren't going down without fight, while the team strung together an impressive and lifting 5-0 run, pushing the score 24-23, set point advantage in the Owls favor.
Despite the Owls valiant effort, the Lady Eagles scored the last three points of the set, giving them the 26-24 set and match win, advancing WBC to the AMC Tournament Semifinal game.
William Woods was unable to keep its season alive and capitalize on a pair of stellar performances from seniors
Emily Becker and
Lauren Rodewald. The two hitters combined for 26 of the teams' 40 kills, as Becker tallied 14 and Rodewald posted 12 on the night. Merz also had a strong outing with seven kills and four digs.
Brittney Engelbrecht ended her season with a match-high 32 assists, as the sophomore also chipped in six digs, while
Shelby Hinshaw led the team defensively, with seven digs.
The Lady Eagles will now travel to Park University for its AMC Semifinal match-up against the No. 1 seed Missouri Baptist on Friday.
