PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. - Logan Finneran (17 ast, 11 digs),
Kassidy Phillips (11 kills, 17 digs) and
Erin Treis (20 ast, 11 digs) each recorded a double-double as William Woods split a pair of neutral-site matches on Saturday. The Owls made quick work of Olivet Nazarene 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-15) but couldn't sustain the momentum, falling 3-1 (25-23. 24-26, 25-21, 29-27) to Aquinas College.
"We had a weekend of great things and a weekend of lessons learned, and even though our undefeated streak may have ended we have so much more to fight for," said Head Coach
Kandace Cook. "With every hard-fought set and every exhausting point, we rallied, we persevered and we found every ounce of grit we had and fought back. We unlocked so much potential, but I know we are capable of more."
The first set between WWU and Olivet Nazarene was a see-saw battle until late in the set, as a kill by
Lauren Adams sparked a seven point run that turned a 20-17 deficit into set point for WWU. The Tigers mustered three points before Adams finished things off with a kill from Treis.
WWU opened up a 16-8 lead in the second, but Olivet was able to respond with a 7-1 run to close the gap to 18-15 before pushing the Owls to a 24-24 deadlock. Adams was again the finisher for WWU, following up an ONU attack error with a savage solo block.
The Owls romped to a 25-15 third set win to complete the sweep.
In the nightcap, William Woods saw its six-game unbeaten streak come to an end, but the Owls went down swinging against Aquinas.
Woods opened the first set with a solid hitting performance, posting 13 kills to just two errors en route to a 25-23 set win.
The second and third sets saw Aquinas string together several small runs, and despite taking the second to extra points, the Owls found themselves in a 2-1 hole after 26-24 and 25-21 set losses.
William Woods turned the aggressor in the fourth set, cranking off an 8-2 run to open, with a pair of Phillips kills bookending a kill and a solo block by
Luciana Pereira Paiva to cap the run.
The Owls extended to a 21-16 lead, but Aquinas was able to call a timeout and settle into a rhythm. The Saints took the lead at 22-21, but WWU was able to answer and reach set point first at 24-23.
Aquinas held on twice at set point for WWU, before reversing the table at 26-25. Kills from Paiva and Phillips put WWU in a position to finish things off, but the Owls weren't able to hang on as Aquinas took three straight points for the win.
The Owls return to Fulton on Wednesday night, hosting Culver-Stockton College at 7 p.m. in the nightcap of a split-venue doubleheader with women's soccer.
