COLUMBIA, Mo. – The William Woods University volleyball team split their opening day contests of the Columbia College Tournament defeating John Brown University (Ark.) 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23) and falling to Bethel College 3-0 (21-25, 23-25, 21-25).

The Owls conclude tournament play Saturday October 13th at 9 a.m. when they face Georgetown College (KY.) and No. 21 Central Methodist at 11 a.m.
 
WWU vs. John Brown
Game Flow
John Brown was the first to get on the board on a service ace from Elizabeth Williams giving them a 1-0 lead. They quickly increased their lead to two when Elizabeth Parrish found Jessica Meyers for a kill. WWU was finally able to get score on a John Brown attack error making the score 2-1.
 
John Brown eventually got out to a 4-1 lead before William Woods went on a run. After a Jenna Lowery error, Remie Johnson found Jaclyn Zahn for a kill and put the Owls with one point of the Golden Eagles. For the next few points, both teams continued to battle back and forth with neither one able to get an advantage.
 
Finally, with the score tied at 18, Tess Schannuth found Zahn for another kill and put WWU ahead 19-18. The Golden Eagles had multiple opportunities to regain the advantage but could not find away to get the lead and William Woods would win the first set 25-20.
 
Like the first set the Golden Eagles were the first to get on the board when Carrie Ciesla found Meyers for a kill giving them the early 1-0 lead. With momentum building for John Brown, they found themselves ahead 10-4 midway through the second set.  After a quick momentum swing, the Owls made a 9-5 run and tied the game at 15.
 
For the first time in the set, WWU was able to gain the lead when Schannuth found Tory Wiley for a kill and gave the Owls a 17-16 lead over John Brown. Both teams battled the finally points of the set, but Taylor Glover found Megan Beck for a kill and the Golden Eagles walked away with a 25-21 second set win.
 
With the third set tied a three, the Owls went on an 8-1 run and put them ahead 11-4. The Golden Eagles would continue to fight but could not get within more than one point of the Owls and William Woods went on to win the third set 25-19.
 
To begin the fourth set was much like the second set. Both William Woods and John Brown battled it out to the end. With the score 24-23 in WWU's favor, Remie Johnson found Kate Doerhoff for a kill and gave the Owls a 25-23 victory and a 3-1 match win.
 
By the Numbers
.207 – William Woods had a .207 hitting percentage in the first set
11 – Tory Wiley led the Owls with 11 kills
22 – Jessica Jensen led WWU with 22 digs
29 – Remie Johnson recorded 29 assists in the match
15 – WWU had 15 blocks in the match
5 – The Owls had five aces in the match
8 – Eight different Owls had a kill in the match
 
WWU vs. Bethel
Game Flow
The Owls were the first to put a point on the board when Bethel's Payton Anderson committed a blocking error and gave WWU a 1-0 lead. On a Rayleen Rivera attack error, Bethel was able to tie the game a 1. Rivera redeemed herself following her error as she was able to block Bethels attack and give WWU a 2-1 advantage.
 
William Woods continued to hold a slight advantage until a service ace from Payton Hart sparked a Bethel run making the score 17-11. With momentum now on their side, Bethel continued to bring the pressure only allowing the Owls to get within four before finally ending the set 25-21.
 
In the begin of the second set Bethel College got out to a quick 2-0 lead. The Owls quickly put a stop to Bethels momentum when Remie Johnson found Rivera for a kill. WWU was able to tie the game following Rivera's kill on a Bethel error. Much of the second set was a back and forth battle with neither team able to gain a lead.
 
Finally, after a point for point set, Anderson was able to find Madyson Beaver for a kill and give Bethel a 21-19 cushion over the Owls. William Woods got with in a point but was never able to gain back the lead and will loss the second set 25-23.
 
Down two sets, William Woods looked to get out to an early lead in the third set. After Bethel was able to get a small lead, the Owls switched gears and was able to get out to 10-5 lead on a Remie Johnson kill. 
 
After trailing majority of the third set, Bethel was able to find a spark late and gain a 21-20 advantage over WWU.  Down by one, William Woods looked to make one more attack but could not capitalize and would eventually fall 25-21 and give Bethel the win.
 
By the Numbers
10 – Remie Johnson led WWU with 10 total digs
12 – Kate Doerhoff led the Owls with 12 kills in the contest
22 – Remie Johnson recorded 22 assists on the night
5 – WWU had five blocks in the match
7 – Seven different Owls had a kill in the match
4 – The Owls had four service aces in the match