BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Madelyn Ashton pulled down a career-, match-high 15 digs against No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan (12-1), and Pamela Durazo went up for four blocks and served three aces - both match-highs - versus Southwestern Christian (2-3), as William Woods (4-5) was swept 25-21, 25-19, 25-18 by the host Eagles before winning in straight sets, 25-14, 25-17, 25-13, over the visiting Eagles in the OKWU Triangular Tuesday at Mueller Sports Center.

The Owls faced a stiff test against Oklahoma Wesleyan, who won 3-0 at No. 7 Columbia and 3-1 at No. 11 Missouri Baptist. Although WWU had a solid defensive performance from Ashton, 11 kills from Luciana Paiva Pereira and 17 assists from Erin Treis, the home Eagles excelled as a team. OKWU had 49 kills, five aces, six blocks, 43 assists and 45 digs, to Woods' 33 kills, two aces, four blocks, 29 assists and 40 digs.

"Oklahoma Wesleyan is an awesome team; they are so consistent and have big hitters. They played a strong and steady game that we were determined to play with," William Woods volleyball coach Kandance Cook said. "We came out knowing we were going to have to do work and come in playing for one another and together. Our goals were to slow some hitters down and answer back every opportunity we could, and we did! Our team has come so far already this season, and the more we settle into a lineup, the stronger we become. The competitiveness at practice, the passion and the work ethic have been huge these last couple days. We are using it all to be ready for the weekend!"

William Woods did well at the beginning of the first set, going up by as much as three points, its most significant leads of the match, at 4-1 and 5-2. During that 5-2 run to start set one, the Owls scored off four attack errors by the home Eagles and a kill by Paiva Pereira off a Treis assist. 

Oklahoma Wesleyan went on an 8-1 momentum-shifting run, trailing 9-7 when it opened the scoring spree before taking the first of its set-high five-point leads at 15-10. Maia Rubio tallied three of her co-match-high 13 kills during that home Eagles run, as they remained in front the rest of set one.

In the second set, the Owls posted a set-high six errors and hit .156, failing to take a lead. Oklahoma Wesleyan notched four errors and hit .348, with its most considerable advantage of the set coming at 16-7. Evelyn Rohrberg recorded six of her co-game-high 13 kills in set two.

Keeping it closer in the third set, Woods took two leads, 1-0 and 3-2, and stayed with Oklahoma Wesleyan until the final few points, when the home Eagles went up by seven points twice. Giving it their all to avoid the sweep, Paiva Pereira registered four kills and Durazo had two assists, one ace and a kill.

Playing back-to-back games, William Woods dominated Southwestern Christian, getting more kills (41-30), aces (10-2), blocks (5-0), assists (34-27) and digs (52-41) than the away Eagles. Outside of Durazo, the Owls were led by Paiva Pereira with seven kills and a .700 hitting percentage, Treis with a team-high 12 assists and a 1.000 hitting percentage and Vitoria Campos Mello and Ashton with nine digs apiece.

"This was a game where we had an opportunity to do some different things and play with parts of our lineup," Cook said. "We have great depth in our team and were excited to utilize more of it! We had a slow set of lower energy and had some great pieces step onto the court and make a true difference in the excitement and the want to play!"

Only letting Southwestern Christian go on top after the first point, WWU cruised to a set-one victory, with the Owls' 9-4 run that put it up by 10 points (24-14), giving them the comfortable edge. Playing unselfishly, Paiva Pereira, Campos Mello, Lorenza Lagana and Lauren Adams each put down a kill during WWU's commanding stretch.

Picking up where they left off, the Owls directed the court in set two, going up by as much as eight points three times. WWU gained control of play for the remainder of the set after its first eight-point cushion at 17-9, using an 8-4 run to get there as Adams notched two kills, and Mya Clapp and Durazo each had a kill.

Maintaining their superiority in the third set, the Owls ensured the away Eagles wouldn't take a set from them by going ahead for good at 3-2 before furthering their lead by as much as 12 points twice. To earn its first 12-point advantage at 24-12, WWU went on a 14-6 run, with Durazo recording three aces, Marissa Solverud three kills and Reanna Dodge and Campos Mello two kills each. Solverud posted her fourth and final kill of the set, her fifth of the contest, off an Audra Gray assist for the match-set point.

Continuing their five-match week, the Owls face host Evangel (6-0) on Day 1 of the Evangel University Quad at 7 p.m. Friday at Ashcroft Center in Springfield. In their meeting last season, Adams tallied a career-high 20 kills as Woods reverse swept the Valor 20-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-3. Read Full Article