BELLEVUE, Neb. – The William Woods University volleyball team returns back to action this weekend, as the team gets back on the road to play four games in two days at the Bellevue University Tournament.
The Owls are coming off a strong display at the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Tournament last weekend, to kick-off its 2015 season, which saw the Owls go 3-1. The team defeated Bacone College in its first match on Friday (25-14, 25-20, 25-14) but fell to Sterling College in four (25-21, 21-25, 24-26, 17-15). Then in day two, the Owls cruised past Langston University in three (25-16, 27-25, 25-17) and Manhattan Christian College in straight sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-19) to wrap up its play at the OKWU Tournament.
"Our trip to Oklahoma Wesleyan was an overall success," said head coach
Monica Herschelman. "We had the opportunity to see a variety of competition and were challenged in ways we had not been previously."
Herschelman added, "All of our girls were able to get valuable time on the floor and our young ones got a good feel for the collegiate level of play." "I am proud of the way we battled in tight situations and fought as a team throughout the weekend."
The Owls, offensively, are led by
Emily Becker with 37 kills, as the senior recorded her first double-double of the season against Sterling College last weekend, with 13 kills and 12 digs.
Stephanie Davis, is right behind Becker, posting 30 kills, with a team-high .383 attack percentage.
The Owls setter,
Brittney Engelbrecht, has had a strong start to her sophomore campaign, as she also collected a double-double last weekend with 12 kills and 18 assists against Langston University. The Jefferson City, native, leads the team with 121 assists. On the defensive side of the net, senior
Shelby Hinshaw has totaled 70 digs in four matches, while amassing a career-high 22 digs against Manhattan Christian at the OKWU tournament.
On Friday, WWU will start the tournament off at 11:00 a.m. against the host, Bellevue University, a team that is coming off 22-20 overall record and whom the Owls defeated in three straight sets (26-24, 26-24, 25-23) last season at the Bellevue Tournament.
The Bruins are currently 1-5 on the 2015 season, as the team's lone win came against No. 23 ranked Lewis-Clarke State in four sets. However, three of the team's four losses this season has come against both top 25 ranked teams and receiving vote's teams.
Rachel Wald has paced BU offense this far, totaling a team-high 50 kills in six matches, while Beth Walker has handed out 181 assists and Taylor Holz has recorded 65 digs on the season.
At 3:00 p.m. later Friday afternoon, the Owls will take on Mayville State, who are currently off to a rocky start to the season (1-3), after going 21-13 in 2014.
The Comets are coming off a win in four sets (27-25, 25-16, 25-18) against William Penn University back on August 28
th. Remington Werner led Mayville with 17 kills and three blocks, while Puncochar Jen contributed 13 kills.
On Saturday at 9:00 a.m., the Owls meet up with Baker University, who is coming off a 16-16 overall record and a 4-5 Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) record last season but have showed a strong start to its 2015 season, as the wildcats are currently 3-1.
The Owls will be looking for redemption from last season, as the Wildcats defeated WWU in a thrilling five sets, where
Cierra Merz led the Owls with 12 kills, meanwhile, Becker totaled 11 kills and Engelbrecht collected 36 assists, while three Owls reached the double-figure plateau in digs.
WWU then will wrap up the Bellevue tournament with a final match against No. 24 ranked Jamestown University at 3:00 p.m.
After coming off a 25-9 overall record in 2014, Jamestown looks to improve on its 1-3 start this season. In its last match, the Knights defeated Briar Cliff College in four sets, where the team totaled 55 kills in the match and three players reached double-figures in kills.
Kaitlin Anderson guides the Knights with 43 kills and 12 blocks in four matches, meanwhile, Nicole Warren has collected 94 digs and Kaia Buck has totaled 85 assists.
With a tournament and another full week of practice under the team's belt, the Owls look to head into this weekend ready and determined to capture key wins on the season. "We are looking to elevate our game overall and continue to grow as a unit," expressed Herschelman.
"This is one of the biggest and toughest tournaments in NAIA, it really prepares us for what we need to play like if we want to be a contender at a National level," added Herschelman. "We will need to play together and take every point as an opportunity to score if we want to bring home four wins this weekend."
Fans check back on wwuowls.com for a full recap and scores from the action in Nebraska.
