CANTON, Mo. – The William Woods University Volleyball team defeated Culver-Stockton College, 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-18, 25-12) in the Owls 2017 season opener on Wednesday evening.
 
Leading the way for the Owls was a pair of newcomers, Kate Doerhoff and Rayleen Rivera, who each had nine kills in the match. Tory Wiley followed with eight. Brittney Engelbrecht dished out a game-high 34 assists in the match, while Jessica Jensen had a game-high 22 digs.
 
With the win, Owls head coach Ashley Nehls picked up her first win as the Owls head coach.
 
The Owls return to action on Monday, August 28th when they travel to Salina, Kansas to face Kansas Wesleyan University in a non-conference match. The match is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
 
Game Flow
The Owls and the Wildcats went point for point for the first five points before the Culver-Stockton would run away with a lead of six after back to back kills. Tory Wiley would stop the run after a kill of her own making the score, 11-6. The Owls would slowly gain momentum as they chipped away at the score, cutting the lead down to three, 13-10. The Owls would continue to trail until a late surge of Owl offense beginning with a kill Wiley and Kira Krebill and three straight attack errors tied the set at 19-19. The two teams would then battle for the last points with the Owls taking the lead. Another kill be Krebill and a block by Abby Ferguson would give the Owls the first set, 26-24.
 
The second set would start out with the Wildcats taking an early 4-0 lead. The two teams would then go point for point until the Owls took the lead after a kill by Ferguson and Wildcats errors. Culver-Stockton would then run away with a seven-point run taking a 16-9 lead. The Owls would chip away at the score as Wiley added a kill of her own and Melanie Kala landed a service ace, putting the Owls down two, 18-16. The Owls would add kills by Kate Doerhoff, Abby Ferguson and Brittney Engelbrecht before falling to the Wildcats, 25-21.
 
In set three, the roles would be reversed as the Owls shot out the gate scoring the first eight out of ten points with Doerhoff, and Wiley combining for four kills. The Owls would continue to take the lead and Kala added another service ace making the score 11-3. Culver-Stockton would try to even out the score, but the Owls only allowed the Wildcats to get within four points for the remainder of the set. Kills from Krebill, Ferguson, and Raylee Rivera gave the Owls the set, 25-18.
 
The Owls carried the energy from the third set into the fourth as they ran off with an early seven-point lead, 7-0. Brittney Engelbrecht would dish out two assists and record service ace during that stretch. Kate Doerhoff and Engelbrecht would continue to add to the Owl lead putting the Owls ahead 14-3. The Wildcats would then have a six-point run chipping away at the score and trimming the Owls lead down to five, 15-10. A service run by Engelbrecht would give the Owls the energy they needed to finish the set, ultimately taking set and match, 25-12.
 
By the Numbers
34 – Brittney Engelbrecht dished out a game-high 34 assists in the match
4 – WWU had four aces in the match
12 – The Owls recorded 12 blocks in the match
42 – William Woods dished out 42 assists in the win
9 – Kate Doerhoff and Rayleen Rivera led the Owls with nine kills each
3 – Melanie Kala recorded three of the Owls four aces
22 – Jessica Jensen had a game-high 22 digs in the match
45- The Owls would have 45 kills in the match