FULTON, Mo. - Kassidy Phillips notched 28 kills and 19 digs across two matches, with
Lauren Adams and
Luciana Pereira Paiva each adding 16 kills as William Woods picked up two wins to open the 2023 season. The Owls mounted a furious comeback in the first match to take a 3-2 (18-25, 19-25, 25-14, 26-24, 15-12) win over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College before rolling to a straight sets win (25-10, 25-23, 26-24) over Bethany College. Adams was also solid on the defensive side, racking up 11 blocks (1 solo, 10 assists) for WWU.
The Owls found themselves on the wrong side of a collection of Pomeroy runs in the first two sets, and despite managing attack percentages of .161 and .222 respectively, WWU dropped the first set 25-18 and the second 25-19.
In the third set, the Owls were the beneficiary of a long run of points, as WWU turned a service error by Leishmarie Virella at 10-8 into an 18-8 lead. Erin Trees dominated at the service line during the run, knocking down a pair of aces and a kill. Adams added a solo block and an assist during the run.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, but the Owls closed out the set with an Adams ace to tie the match at 2-2. Adams would have the final serve in the deciding set as well, with Phillips and
Ella Lewis combining for a huge block to give the Woods a 15-12 set win and a 3-2 match win.
Riding on the momentum of the big comeback against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the Owls dominated the first set of the nightcap, posting a .324 hitting percentage and holding Bethany to a -.114 mark en route to a 25-10 first set margin.
With the advantage, head coach
Kandace Cook took the opportunity in the second and third sets to rotate players into her lineup, but the Owls outlasted the Swedes to move to 2-0 on the season.
William Woods hits the road for its next five matches, beginning with a trip to Oskaloosa, Iowa next Tuesday to face William Penn. First serve in the match is set for 6 p.m.
