FULTON, Mo. – In the 2015 regular season finale, the William Woods University volleyball team fell to the No. 8-ranked Park University in three straight sets (11-25, 17-25, 15-25).
 
The Owls (22-14; 9-3 AMC), had a rocky start to the night, as the team found themselves trailing the Pirates 13-4, in the opening set, after Sabrina Silva came up with the kill for Park.
 
WWU would then capture back to back points, after a kill from Emily Becker and a Park University attack error, however, the Pirates would stay diligent and gain some breathing room, as they went of a 10-5 run to go on to secure the 25-11 first set win.
 
William Woods had its struggles in the first set, totaling seven kills, but had six errors for an attack percentage of .034, while Park added 14 kills with just three errors, for a match-high attack percentage of .500.
 
In the second set, Park jumped out to another early commanding lead (13-6), after an attack error from WWU. The Owls would narrow the Pirates advantage down to 23-15, after a kill from senior Cierra Merz, but that would be as close as WWU would get, with Park taking the second set, 25-17.
 
WWU posted eight kills, with five errors for an attack percentage of .120, while Park amassed 17 kills  and earned an attack percentage of .313.
 
In the third set, the Owls knew they had to fend off the hot Pirates to keep this match alive and the team did just that, going point-for-point with Park early on. However, Pirates gained the momentum of the set, going on a 9-1 run, capped off with another kill from Silva, making the score 15-6 in the Pirates favor.
 
WWU would get back into the game by going on a 5-3 run of their own, trailing the Pirates 18-11, after Becker earned a kill for the Owls.  Despite the valiant effort from the Owls, Park closed out the set on a 7-4 run and went on to take the set and match 25-15 victory.
 
William Woods ended the night with 22 kills as team, Becker posted a team-high 10 kills, committing just one error to earn an impressive .450 attack percentage, while Merz added five kills. Brittney Engelbrecht led the team in the assist category with 15 assists, while tying Becker with a team-high four digs.
 
Park, meanwhile collected 48 kills, while Daniela Duarte paced the way for the Pirates with 14 kills and Silva also contributed 10 kills. Danna Gomes handed out a match-high 38 assists, while defensively Raissa Herczfeld gathered 13 digs.
 
The Owls will return to the court on November 10^th, for the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Quarterfinals, as an opponent and a time is TBA.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com for a full preview on who the Owls will be playing in the first round of the AMC Tournament.

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