FULTON, Mo. - William Woods (10-7) earned its 10th win of the season handily, giving up no more than 14 points in a set, as it swept Avila University (4-13) 25-14, 25-10, 25-12 Wednesday at Anderson Arena.
In a contest that lasted just over an hour, the Owls led the Eagles in every notable statistical category: kills (40-19), hitting percentage (.413-.074), aces (13-1), blocks (5-4), assists (39-18), and digs (31-25), And, WWU's
Erin Treis posted her third straight 20-plus-assist game with a team-high 23,
Vitoria Campos Mello had a match-high 11 kills while hitting .529,
Pamela Durazo a team-high eight digs,
Mya Clapp a career-high six aces and
Lauren Adams a match-high four blocks.
"Tonight was a great night for us at home!" William Woods volleyball coach
Kandace Cook said. "Looking around Anderson Arena and seeing it packed full of students, families and others in our community is such an amazing feeling. We are building our culture here with every passing day. The growing support of athletics continues to impress me as we pack our stands with every home game.
"We couldn't be as successful as we are at home if it weren't for our crowd and, the support of our cheer team and all the energy everyone provides! Their energy grows ours and we continue to improve and want to get better and grow in as many ways as we possibly can together.
"We were focused tonight on being okay dominating and not letting other teams play with us. We are capable of such a high level of volleyball and I thought we played to that level very well tonight. We played aggressive and fast and never let up. That is everything we have been working for. We have hard games coming up next week, and after seeing how we stepped up to play tonight, I know we are ready."
The first set saw the Owls let the Eagles take their only lead, at 1-0 (extended to 2-0), and it was the only set Avila hit above .000 (.312). Although that happened, Woods recorded the first of two set-high .480 hitting percentages, tallying a set-high 15 kills, including six put down by Campos Mello.
Clapp opened set two with back-to-back aces, as the Owls notched the first six points, a Campos Mello kill ending the run. Not only did Clapp serve two successive aces in the set, she also gave WWU its first 10-point lead of set two at 17-7 and registered four aces and a kill. Joining the Rock Bridge alumna in having a solid set, Treis added seven assists, a kill and an ace - the latter two scoring two consecutive points for the Owls.
Woods showed its depth in the third set, with freshman
Marissa Solverud tallying all four of her kills in six attempts for a .500 hitting percentage.
Audra Gray, who provided Solverud's final kill for match-set-point, recorded half her 10 assists in set three. While the Owls hit .480 with 14 kills and two errors, the Eagles hit .000 with seven kills and seven errors in the game-deciding set.
As it stayed in cruise control, William Woods utilized 18 of the 34 players on its roster.
A resounding home sweep victory was just what the Owls needed, beginning their final campaign in the American Midwest Conference with their toughest matchup on paper. For the last time in conference play, WWU will take the just over 28-mile bus ride to Columbia to face rival, No. 25 Columbia College (7-7) - dropped seven spots in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25, released Wednesday - at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Southwell Complex.
