FULTON, Mo. - William Woods University (19-10, 3-2 American Midwest Conference) moved above .500 in the AMC after sweeping University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis (3-24, 0-5) 25-17, 25-12, 25-19 Tuesday at Anderson Arena.
Besides blocks (4-3), the Owls led in all the noteworthy team statistics: Kills (42-20), hitting percentage (.264-.038), aces (10-2), assists (40-19) and digs (37-27). WWU's top performances were
Erin Treis with her 15th double-double this season (match-high 21 assists and 10 digs),
Pamela Durazo with a match-high 11 kills and a team-high two blocks and
Mackenzie Wilson - a first-team All-North Central Missouri Conference and all-district selection on Fulton's 2023 NCMC/district-title winning team (program's first conference-district-title winning season in 13 years) - served a career-high three aces.
"Always a great night to take on a conference match in Anderson Arena," William Woods volleyball coach
Kandace Cook said. "The pace of the game was slower than we wanted to run, but we found the ability to keep pace and do some good things. It was great to start off the week strong and settle in for another home game come Thursday!"
Right from the get-go, the Owls dominated the contest, never trailing in their first-set victory. WWU opened the set with the first of its two set-high 4-0 runs; Wilson showed her versatility with an ace and an assist during that run. The second 4-0 Owls stretch started with two straight
Mya Clapp kills off
Erin Treis' assist, and it ended with back-to-back Treis aces to hand WWU a 12-7 advantage. The Owls took a set-high 10-point lead at 21-11.
William Woods also didn't go down in the second set, with its 8-0 run solidifying its lead early. An Eutetics service error started that run at 2-1, and the second of two Wilson aces in that stretch helped her hometown team to a 9-1 advantage. Durazo, who had four kills, one block and one ace in the set, won set-point for the Owls with her ace.
Unliked the first two sets, UHSP put up a fight, taking the lead first on a Hannah Kynaston kill off a Jenna Brison - surpassed 2,000 career assists in the match - assist. But, that was the only lead the Eutectics took, with the Owls soaring in front for good when they went on a 4-0 run that began with a Durazo kill provided by
Juliana Neves and finished with an
Andressa M. Borges block;
Ryleigh Sander had an ace the point before Borges' block. Treis registered the last two of her 21 assists over the game's final two points, with
Vitoria Campos Mello's 10th and final kill giving WWU the match-set point.
Staying in Fulton, the Owls seek to solidify their winning record in the AMC when they host Harris-Stowe State University (4-15, 0-4 AMC) at 6 p.m. Thursday.
