Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. - William Woods University (16-10) maintained its tremendous start to the week, extending its winning streak to four games after beating University of St. Francis (12-11) 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 15-10) and Madonna (5-11) 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-18) on Day 1 of the Trolls Invite Friday at DeVos Gymnasium.

Although the Owls played a five-setter against the Fighting Saints, they led in most statistics. WWU had 69 kills, a .239 hitting percentage, 65 assists, six aces, 75 digs, and 13 blocks, compared to St. Francis' 58 kills, a .204 hitting percentage, 54 assists, six aces, 77 digs, and 10 blocks.

"Today was a great day!" William Woods volleyball coach Kandace Cook said. "We had a slow start and had to learn how to gain our composure and get moving after a long bus ride early this morning. We quickly settled in and, took the game to five and came out on top after we minimized some serving errors. We were also proud to see some of our reserve players come off the bench and do their job really well. We had a lot of energy and power in that game; it was impressive to see!"

The Owls' 69 kills were a season-high, and leading the team in that department were Pamela Durazo (.481 hitting percentage) and Vitoria Campos Mello (.229 hitting percentage) with 16 each; Andressa M. Borges was one behind them, with a career-high 15 kills. Erins Treis supported WWU's attack by posting her 14th double-double this season, tallying a match-high 27 assists and a team-high 21 digs.

William Woods led three times in the first set before the Fighting Saints took the lead on an Owls attack error that put them ahead 7-6. Despite USF staying in front from that earlier stage of the set, WWU didn't let the Fighting Saints go in front by more than four points, the first instance at 12-8 and the final at 22-18. The Owls notched 13 kills and hit .143, while USF had 12 kills and hit .184.

In a back-and-forth second set, the Fighting Saints scored the first four points, and then Woods registered the next eight points to go up 8-4. Campos Mello recorded three kills and two blocks, and Durazo had two blocks and an assist in that stretch. The Owls' four-point lead was their largest of the set, as St. Francis came back and went on a 3-0 run capped by two straight Taylor Connolly kills to go ahead 17-16. Staying on top for good, WWU answered with a 4-0 run led by Audra Gray, who had an assist, served back-to-back aces, and ended the scoring surge that gave the Owls a three-point (20-17) lead. WWU notched 13 kills and hit .179, while USF had 15 kills and hit .256.

Another crazy set unfolded in set three: William Woods led five times, the last instance at 7-6, but the Fighting Saints led by no more than six points. USF's set-high lead happened when it ended its set-deciding 6-0 run, putting it ahead 18-12. The Owls tallied 16 kills while hitting .293, and the Fighting Saints had a stea-high 19 kills and a .359 hitting percentage.

Unable to maintain its straight offensive numbers, William Woods held St. Francis to a set-low .033 hitting percentage with eight kills in the fourth set, as the Owls posted a second straight 16-kill set with an even better .314 hitting percentage. WWU led by as much as eight points in the set, going on a 6-0 run to get there, with Campos Mello and Borges putting down two kills apiece during the scoring surge. The fourth set was Borges' best, tallying six kills and a block.

Maintaining its strong attacking numbers when it mattered most, William Woods registered 11 kills and a .304 hitting percentage compared to St. Francis' four kills and .062 hitting percentage in the fifth set. Just like the fourth set, the Owls had a set-deciding 6-0 run, and this one happened after the Fighting Saints scored the first three points. Luciana Paiva Pereira notched a kill, a block and an assist and Durazo had two kills in the pivotal WWU run. Borges secured the five-set Owls victory, hitting her third kill of the set over the net - added a block in the set - which was assisted by Juliana Neves, the last of her 20 in the contest.

That wrapped up the first half of William Woods' six-match week, but the Owls wanted to ensure they finished their final match Friday quickly, and they did with their second sweep of the week - over the Crusaders. WWU recorded 33 kills, a .206 hitting percentage, 30 assists, nine aces, 47 digs and six blocks, holding Madonna to 31 kills, a .036 hitting percentage, 27 assists, six aces, 53 digs and five blocks.

"Madonna came out strong against us; they wanted to beat us, and it was very obvious," Cook said. "But that's how any team should play with the want and drive to beat whoever is on the other side. We grew in our defensive game and became a more consistent team together, that the game stayed strong in our favor. It was a great night of volleyball for us. Can't wait for tomorrow!"

Durazo paced William Woods' offense yet again, tallying a team-high eight kills with a .412 hitting percentage, a match-high four aces and five blocks. Campos Mello also shined with five kills and a team-high 10 digs, and so did Gray with a team-high nine assists.

Dominating the first set with 11 kills and a .286 hitting percentage compared to Madonna's eight kills and -.033 hitting percentage, William Woods never trailed before winning the first set by eight points. The Owls were led by Mya Clapp and Campos Mello, with three kills each, and Gray, with two aces and six assists.

Maintaining its command of the court, Wililam Woods led by as much as nine points in the second set when a Durazo ace put the Owls up 24-15. Madonna followed that up with a 7-0 run, but WWU avoided the tiebreaker and won the set on a Crusaders service error. The Owls had 11 kills and a .162 hitting percentage in set two, while Madonna had 12 kills and a .111 hitting percentage.

In a back-and-forth third set, William Woods was in favor of the 10th and final lead change of the set, earning its set-, match-deciding lead on Borges' kill provided by Neves that made it 18-17 Owls. Borges had five kills in the set, while Durazo showed why she's a Swiss Army knife with three kills, one ace, two assists and a block. After a Borges kill off a Durazo assist put it at 24-18, a bad set by the Crusaders handed the Owls match-set point. WWU had 11 kills and a .190 hitting percentage in set three, compared to Madonna's 11 kills and a .022 hitting percentage.

Two wins away from a 6-0 week, William Woods takes on host Trinity Christian College (5-16) at 9 a.m. and Lourdes University (4-14) at 11 a.m. Saturday to finish play in the Trolls Invite. Saturday's matches are the Owls' final nonconference matchups in 2024.