FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University volleyball team was defeated by No. 12 Missouri Baptist University, 3-1 (23-25, 19-25, 25-21, 22-25) on Monday evening at Anderson Arena.
 
Abby Ferguson led the Owls with 10 kills in the match, while Kate Doerhoff and Brittney Engelbrecht followed with nine and eight kills. Engelbrecht dished out 31 assists in the match. WWU recorded 13 blocks, seven by Kira Krebill, in the match. The loss was the first loss for the Owls at home this season.
 
WWU returns to action on Wednesday, October 25th when they host Harris-Stowe State University at Anderson Arena. The match is set to start at 7 p.m.
 
Game Flow
The Spartans would take the early lead in set one, putting the Owls behind, 5-2. The Spartans would keep the lead until Kayton Coffee would serve up a few points taking the lead, 7-6. That lead did not last too long as the Spartans then took a three-point lead, 11-8. The Owls would slowly cut the lead until finally a service run by Melanie Kala would tie the set. In that run Kate Doerhoff, Tory Wiley, and Abby Ferguson would contribute in blocks that would bring the set score to 16-16. The set then went back in forth with both teams gaining and losing possession. A kill by Brittney Engelbrecht tied the set at 23-23, but the Owls could not string points together, falling in set one, 25-23.
 
Set two would quickly get away from the Owls as the Spartans scored three out of the four points off kills taking a 4-1 lead. After another kill by Engelbrecht, the Owls found themselves behind four points, 10-6. The Owls would slowly chip away at the lead but could not get more than two points from the Spartans. The Spartans would continue to swing away, taking set two, 25-19.
 
With the match on the line, the Owls fought back and forth until the Spartans took a three-run lead, 7-4. That did not last long as the Owls answered back immediately with a kill from Rayleen Rivera, 7-6. The Owls fell behind once again as they found themselves chasing a three-point lead, 12-9. A timely service run by Kameryn Bellinger would give the Owls the lead they needed, 17-14. The Owls did not lose their lead for the duration of the match adding kills by Rivera and Kira Krebill as well as a service ace, 25-21.
 
With hopes to even out the scoreboard, the Owls came out strong in the fourth set with three of their five points being from blocks taking a 5-2 lead. After a kill from Wiley and a service ace from Bellinger, the Owls were ahead, 9-4. The Spartans chipped away at the lead, but it was not until a service run by Caterina Cigarini that they would catch up to the Owls as they trimmed the lead to one, 16-15. The Owls continued to hold the lead until a Spartan service run that would tie the set, 20-20. The Owls would then go on a three-point drought as the Spartans ran away with the set and match, 25-22.
 
By the Numbers
13 – WWU had 13 blocks in the contest
3 – The Owls had three aces in the match against the Spartans
10 – Abby Ferguson led the Owls with 10 kills
11 – Jessica Jensen led the Owls with 11 digs
31 – Brittney Engelbrecht dished out 31 assists in the match
.214 – WWU hit .214 in the match against the Spartans