Box Score COLUMBIA, Mo. - Following a slow start, William Woods University (10-9, 0-2 American Midwest Conference) fought back and took the third set before losing 3-1 (25-9, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19) to Stephens College (5-11, 2-0) to end its two-game AMC Columbia road trip Thursday at Silverthorne Arena.

The Owls' statistical leaders were Vitoria Campos Mello with a team-high 10 kills and a co-team-high four blocks. Lauren Adams with a co-team-high four blocks and a tri-team-high two aces, Erin Treis with a team-high 19 assists, nine digs and a tri-team-high two aces and Ryleigh Sander with a tri-team-high two aces.

William Woods notched 55 digs, 36 kills while hitting .007, 34 assists, nine aces and seven blocks, and the Stars had 65 digs, 45 kills while hitting .179, 43 assists, nine blocks and eight aces.

"Tonight did not go as planned; it's been a roller coaster ride," William Woods volleyball coach Kandace Cook said. "We played some of our strongest volleyball and not our strongest volleyball. We are having some minor injuries that are holding us back in some ways, and we are on the mends of finding who we are together.

"We will be dialing in to do more and play for the name that is on ALL of our jerseys." 

Woods took the first point on an Adams kill in the first set. But after that, it was all Stephens, with the Stars scoring the next eight points unanswered, as it eventually won the set by 16 points.

In the second set, the Owls took two leads, their first at 5-4 on a combined block by Marissa Solverud and Reanna Dodge and their second at 6-5 on a Stephens attack error. Standouts in set two for WWU were Treis with six assists, Adams with three kills and a block and Campos Mello with back-to-back aces.

During the third set, the Owls went on their most extended run of the match, posting seven points with no reply to take their largest lead of the set and game at 12-4. A Pamela Durazo ace ended the run; she also had an assist during it, and Mya Clapp put down back-to-back kills in that stretch. Adams and Campos Mello went on a tear throughout set three, tallying three kills and blocks and an assist and three kills and four blocks, respectively.

After WWU went up 3-0 on a Clapp ace, Adams kill and Stars error, Stephens scored the following four points. The Owls let the Stars further their advantage to three points three times before they took their last lead at 11-10 when Treis served the second of her two straight aces. From there, Stephens went on a 4-0 run and remained ahead until it earned its match-set point. Andressa M. Borges guided the Owls' attack in the set, registering four of her nine kills.

Taking a break from AMC action, William Woods competes in the Judson Invitational Saturday at Lindner Fitness Center in Elgin, Ill. The Owls face Justice College at 9 a.m., Judson University at 11 a.m. and Rochester Christian at 3 p.m.