FULTON, Mo. - Far from the back-and-forth hitting performances that characterized the first meeting between the teams in Point Lookout, William Woods (15-7) dominated on both sides of the court in a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 28-16) win over College of the Ozarks (12-8) on Tuesday night.
Kassidy Phillips blasted 14 kills and added two block assists for the Woods, with
Valeria Olivera adding nine kills and a solo block.
The match got off to a rocky start, as the Bobcats scored the first point before trading back-to-back unforced errors to claim a 2-1 lead.
Lauren Adams tied the set at 2-2 with a kill, then put William Woods in front with a service ace into the back corner off the errant pass by Bri Lineman.
Woods held the lead until hitting a rough patch in the middle of the set, allowing College of the Ozarks to sneak out to a 14-12 lead. But just as quickly, the Owls answered with a 6-1 run and held on for a 25-23 set win.
As the Owls cruised through the second set for a 25-18 win, and opened up a 10-6 lead in the third, head coach
Kandace Cook had the opportunity to stretch her bench a little bit. Despite a few nervous moments as the Bobcats stretched the third set into extra points, Woods slammed the match closed with a block by
Rhakala Blackmon and
Reanna Dodge followed by a service ace by
Audra Gray.
The Owls finished the night at a .292 hitting pace, with College of the Ozarks managing to stay above water with a .111 mark.
William Woods returns to conference play briefly on Friday, visiting Hannibal-LaGrange University for a 6 p.m. match.
