FAYETTE, Mo. -  The William Woods University volleyball team continued their 12 game road trip as they hung on to defeated Central Methodist University, 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 15-25, 15-9), on Wednesday evening.
 
The Owls led two sets to zero but CMU forced the match to five sets and the Owls came away with the victory. Victory Day led the way for the Owls with 17 kills on the match. Brittney Engelbrecht led the way with 50 assists.
 
The Owls return to action on Friday when they travel to the Barker Chevrolet Classic hosted by Illinois Wesleyan. WWU plays at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at 5:30 pm. And Illinois Wesleyan at 7:30 p.m.  
 
Game Flow
The Owls went point for point in the first set with early kills by Kira Krebill, Tory Wiley, and Victoria Day but after that stretch the Owls found themselves at 5-5 until a kill by Brittney Engelbrecht and an attack error by Central Methodist, gave the Owls a two-point lead, 9-7. Abby Ferguson added her own kill keeping the Owls lead at two, 10-8. The Owls then went point for point with the Eagles until Krebill had a two kill streak bringing the Owls to 19-15. Marina Alves and Petra Schaffer both contribute a kill for the Eagles, and capitalizing on Woods service error, set score was 22-18. That was the end for the Eagles scoring as Stephanie Davis and Day recorded the final three kills of the set and the Owls took set one, 25-18.
 
In the second set, the Eagles started out strong scoring the first two points of the set. After a service error by the Eagles, Ferguson tied the set, 2-2. The Owls then went point for point with the Eagles until Davis recorded back-to-back kills and a block by Ferguson and Davis, giving the owls a three-point lead, 16-13. With Eagle mistakes and a kill by Engelbrecht, the Owls found themselves ahead 22-16. The Eagles continued to fight but the Owls held off CMU in set two, 25-22, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Set three was much like the first two, both teams going point for point with each other. After a kill by Petra Schaffer, William Woods found themselves down by four, 9-5. WWU continued to battle and a kill by Ferguson and Eagle mistakes, the Owls fought back tying the set, 16-16. William Woods continued to trade points, however WWU fell short to the Eagles in the third set as the Owls feel, 25-22.
 
The Owls started out slow in set four, finding themselves down by five, 9-4, after the Owls tallied off seven straight points. After a timeout by WWU, Ferguson ended the scoring run by Central Methodist with a kill. Kills by Darcy Latham and Schaffer gave the Eagles extended its lead to seven points, 14-7. The Owls never stopped fighting but the Eagles grew the lead to 20-11. A kill by Ferguson put the Owls within eight points, 20-12. William Woods could not come back and Central Methodist won the set, 25-15, forcing a fifth and final set.  
 
The Owls came out strong in the fifth set scoring the first six out of ten points, 6-4. With back-to-back kills by Davis and Wiley, the Owls were up, 8-5. The Eagles fought back and with another run by Latham and Schaffer putting the Eagles down three, 11-8. WWU did not let the Eagles get any closer and kills by Ferguson and Victor Day put the Owls ahead, 14-9. The Owls took the fifth set after on a bad set by the Eagles and the Owls hung on for a 3-2 victory over Central Methodist.
 
By the Numbers
17 – Victoria Day recorded 17 kills in the five set match
50 – Brittany Engelbrecht dished out 50 assists in the match
18 – Melanie Kala record 18 digs leading the Owls
3 – The Owls had three aces in the match
8 – WWU had eight blocks in the match
3 – William Woods had three players record double-figure kills