ST. LOUIS - William Woods University (21-11, 5-3 American Midwest Conference) started strong against (RV) Missouri Baptist University (18-11, 7-0), winning its 20th straight set before falling 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-15) to the Spartans Thursday at Carl & Deloris Petty SRC.
Despite the result, there were outstanding performances for the Owls:
Erin Treis registered her 16th double-double this season (team-high 17 assists, pulled down 11 digs),
Vitoria Campos Mello with a team-high eight kills and added six blocks and
Pamela Durazo with a match-high eight blocks.
William Woods' block excelled with 13 blocks to MBU's eight. But the Spartans had more kills (52-38), aces (8-4), assists (50-35) and digs (64-53) and a better hitting percentage (.193-.119).
"We came out super strong last night, with a lot of want to win that game and a lot of want to show people the things we've been working towards," William Woods volleyball coach
Kandace Cook said. "A strong start really set us up for the rest of the set. But as we continue to work through the highs and lows of being a team, we know we need to become stronger and more offensive against bigger teams."
Playing at a rival that's unbeaten in the AMC didn't faze the Owls early on, as they put down 11 kills with three errors and a .308 hitting percentage compared to MBU's 10 kills with 10 errors and a .000 hitting percentage in the first set. Woods showed it meant business from the start, jumping out to a 10-1 lead, with Campus Mello and
Lauren Adams each tallying two blocks and a kill and Treis two assists while the Spartans committed six attack errors. Missouri Baptist narrowed its deficit to as small as five points (12-7), but more attack errors helped the Owls go on a 10-5 run to go up by 10 (22-12) for the first time on a combined block by Durazo and
Reanna Dodge. The Owls took their largest lead at 24-13 before they won set one on Durazo's fifth point of the set, as she recorded a kill assisted by
Audra Gray.
Although William Woods had only one less kill (10) than the first set, its hitting percentage was .119, while the Spartans had 18 kills and a .375 hitting percentage in set two. The Owls did win the first two points on kills by Adams and Campos Mello - Adams assisted Campos Mello's kill - but that was the largest lead they had in the set. However, WWU did hold the advantage two more times, the last at 5-4 on Durazo's kill provided by Gray. Leading 15-11, MBU's set-high 5-0 run that put it up by nine points (20-11) was the turning point of the set.
Unlike the first two sets, the third set was a point-for-point battle, with the Spartans' four four-point leads - the first at 12-8 and the last at 24-20 - being the largest of the set. The Owls led by as much as two points at 3-1, and while that did happen toward the beginning of the set, they tied it three times when MBU was eight points or less away from set point - the last instance at 19-19. Following that, the Spartans scored the next three points, and they held the advantage they took in that run for the rest of the set. Regardless of MBU winning set three, there wasn't much difference between each team's attacking numbers: WWU posted 10 kills with a .152 hitting percentage, and the Spartans had 14 kills with a .179 hitting percentage.
The Owls didn't total at least 10 kills in a set for the only time in the fourth set, with seven kills and a -.061 hitting percentage, while Missouri Baptist had 10 kills and a .200 hitting percentage. Two of WWU's kills happened within the first three points, as Campus Mello tallied back-to-back kills to give the Owls their only lead of the set at 2-1 before an Adams ace furthered their cushion to 3-1. From there, the Spartans went on a 5-0 run, staying in front the rest of the match-deciding set following that scoring surge.Â
"We have worked so hard on our block and being strong there, and in many moments it paid off, especially this evening," Cook said. "We know our route to the end won't be easy. But, we won't stop working until it is. I am proud of us. We've taken sets this year we would never have in years past. Now, we need to learn to finish in those hard moments."
William Woods looks to start another winning streak on the night the Owls honor their seniors. WWU hosts Cottey College (8-15, 2-4 AMC) on Senior Night at 6 p.m. next Friday at Anderson Arena in Fulton.
