FULTON, Mo. – The William Woods University volleyball team led 2-0 after the first two sets but could not hang on and were defeated by Culver-Stockton College, 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 18-25, 22-25, 10-15), the Owls season opener.
 
Leading the way for the Owls was Tory Wiley, who had 12 kills. Rayleen Rivera followed with 11 kills. Tess Schannuth dished out 20 assists and Remie Johnson followed with 18 assists. The Owls had a team hitting percentage of .141 for the game.
 
WWU returns to action on Friday, August 24th when they travel to Atchison, Kansas to face Benedictine College. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
 
Game Flow
In a back and forth first set neither team took control of the set early as a kill by Tory Wiley put the Owls ahead 6-4. However, the Wildcats answered right back and scored the next three points taking a one-point lead. WWU regained the lead by scoring the next four points on Wildcats errors, an ace by Jessica Jensen and a kill by Remie Johnson. After the Owls took the lead they did not give up the lead for the remainder of the first set. The Wildcats got the Owls lead down to three points, multiple times but could not get any closer and a Rayleen Rivera kill gave the Owls the set, 25-21.
 
The Owls raced out to a fast 4-0 lead in set two but could not hold onto the lead as Culver-Stockton started coming back. Paige Webster had an ace that tied the game at 6-6. A few points later, the Owls and Wildcats were tied at 8-8 and the Owls scored the next four points taking a four-point lead, 12-8. After a Culver-Stockton point, the Owls scored the five points taking a 17-9 lead after a Jaclyn Zahn kill. WWU did not allow the Wildcats back into the set and another kill by Rivera gave the Owls the second set, 25-17.
 
Early in the third set, the Owls jumped out to a 4-1 lead after a Wildcats attack error. Culver-Stockton would not go away and they trailed 7-5 in the set before they scored the next five points taking a 10-7 lead. After Culver-Stockton took the lead, the Owls could not get the lead back. WWU battled but ended up dropping the third set, 25-18.
 
Needing only one more set to clinch the match, the Owls led early in set four. A block by Zahn and Rivera put the Owls ahead, 5-2. WWU grew the lead to 9-5 later in the fourth set. However, the Wildcats answered back scoring five straight and taking a 10-9 lead. The set would go back and forth, and Kate Doerhoff put the Owls head 16-15 with a kill. WWU could not hang onto the lead and dropped the fourth set, 25-22.
 
Unlike any set on the day, the Wildcats raced out to a huge lead in the fifth set as a kill by Gabby Hickman put the Wildcats ahead, 7-3. WWU answered back by scoring five straight points, 8-7, capped by a Wiley kill. Culver-Stockton came back and took a 10-8 lead but WWU answered with back-to-back Wiley Kills. The race to five was then on and the Wildcats did not let the Owls back into it. Culver-Stockton scored the final five points and came back to defeat the Owls 3-2.
 
By the Numbers
13 – Culver-Stockton recorded 13 aces in the match
20 – Jessica Jensen led the Owls with 20 digs
12 – Tory Wiley had 12 kills to lead the Owls
3 – Rayleen Rivera recorded three asses in the match
.141 – WWU had a .141 hitting percentage in the match
2 – WWU had two players with double-figure kills