SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The William Woods University volleyball team returns to action this weekend at the Evangel University Tournament, as the team will compete in a two-day, four-game tournament. The Owls kick-off the tournament with a first serve set for Friday at 5:00 p.m.
The Owls (4-5; 1-0 AMC), are coming off a home opener win on Tuesday night, as the team captured its first American Midwest Conference (AMC) victory of the year, against Hannibal-LaGrange University. WWU cruised past the Lady Trojans in three straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-13).
William Woods recorded 27 kills in the match, as
Stephanie Davis led the way with eight kills, while
Lauren Rodewald chipped in seven kills and
Cierra Merz added six, with a team-high attack percentage of .455. HLG collected 21 kills but committed 19 errors for a team attack percentage of .026 on the night, but however, a big factor for the Owls were their success from the service line. WWU amassed a season-high 12 aces, as setter
Brittney Engelbrecht posted a career-high of five aces in the third set.
On the season,
Emily Becker paces the Owls with 99 kills and averages 3.19 kills per set, which ranks her sixth in the AMC in both categories. The Belleville, Illinois native also is tied with teammate
Stephanie Davis in blocks with a team-high 20 on the year. Davis, has also been an offensive threat for WWU, as the junior leads the team with an attack percentage of .279 and is second best with 80 kills.
Englebrecht has pushed her total assists up to 308 on the season which is second best in the AMC, while
Shelby Hinshaw has recorded 155 digs, ranking her second in the AMC right behind Missouri Baptist University's, Haley Pouliezos.
Friday at 5:00 p.m. WWU squares off with Cumberland University to start the tournament and then takes on John Brown University for a night cap at 7:00 p.m.
Cumberland University comes into the tournament with a 5-3 overall record and a 2-0 Mid-South Conference record on the season. Maci Lerno has led the Bulldogs with 141 kills and eight matches, while her team-high 4.15 kills per set ranks her 11
th in the nation. On the defensive side, Kara Snell has totaled 125 digs, which leads the team, while also posting a team-high 16 aces on the year.
John Brown University enters the weekend with an impressive 8-1 start to the 2015 season. The Eagles lost its season opener in three to Our Lady of the Lake University, before going on an eight game winning streaking heading into the Evangel Tournament. Audrey Dearian leads JBU in several categories, including kills (124), aces (36) and an attack percentage of .345. Her 36 aces ranks her second in the nation, while averaging 1.2 per set.
Then on Saturday at 10:00 a.m., William Woods takes on Tabor College, who is coming off back-to-back wins earlier this week, which gives the Blue Jays a 6-5 overall record and a 2-0 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) record on the season. Tabor has a recorded 459 kills as a team, while Tena Loewen leads the way and the KCAC with 157 kills, while also being ranked 11
th in the nation.
Concluding the weekend for the Owls will be a match-up against College of the Ozarks at 2:00 p.m. The Lady Bobcats are currently 2-7 on the season, as the team has dropped its last six games. Outside hitter, Danielle Curnes paces the team with 91 kills and an attack percentage of .215, meanwhile Brandi Stahl has posted a team-high 164 digs and Lindsey Boone has handed out 164 assists on the year.
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full recap and scores of the action at Evangel Tournament.
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