FULTON, Mo. - The anticipation and excitement leading up to the first William Woods University (1-1) home event of 2025-26 were met on a day full of thrilling and fun William Woods University Invitational volleyball matches on Thursday at Anderson Arena. The Owls took five of eight sets on the day, dropping a five-setter to Friends University (1-1) before an extended pause in action preceded a nightcap WWU sweep of Mid-American Christian University (2-1), who beat Friends in five sets, handing the hosts the first victory under head coach Aubrey Wilson.
Friends Match
Fighting for the reverse sweep comeback, William Woods dropped its season opener 24-26, 21-25, 25-15, 26-24, 8-15 to Friends. Despite the result, the Owls did something they don't do often: two double-doubles in one match, as Roberta Carlos de Silva put down 17 kills and pulled up 15 digs while Allie Miller had 20 digs and dished in 15 assists.
From the first serve, the first set was what any crowd would want in a season opener, back-and-forth play with neither team jumping out to more than a two-point lead as WWU totaled 19 kills compared to Friends' 12. A third of Luciana Paiva Pereira's team-leading six kills in set one gave Woods two of its three two-point advantages, the last at 22-20. Also standing out in the opening set for the Owls were Erin Treis with 15 assists and one ace, and Miller with five digs.
Another close set to the finish, the second set proved to be a momentum-shifting set. William Woods held three set-high three-point leads, the first at 9-6 thanks to a 5-1 run featuring two straight Treis aces, and the last at 12-9. With the score tied at 19, the Falcons went on a set-deciding 6-1 stretch to take it by four points.
Not pleased with how the first two sets went, the Owls clipped the Falcons in the third set behind 16 kills with a .419 hitting percentage and three blocks to Friends' seven kills with a .037 hitting percentage and one block. After Friends took its last lead of the set at 7-6, William Woods fired up a 9-2 run to send it up by six points (15-9) - Ivi Marcolino notched four kills in that time, including three straight and the first of which gave the Owls their set-deciding lead. From that point on, it was smooth sailing for WWU, capping set three by outscoring the Falcons 6-1.
In the fourth set, Woods and Friends fought tooth and nail before the Owls ultimately clinched their second consecutive set to push it to a fifth. The Falcons controlled it late, 23-19, before a 7-1 WWU run ended the set in the Owls' favor; two of Marcolino's five kills for the set occurred in that time, and half of Paiva Pereira's four happened then. Treis and Ryleigh Sander helped out on the supporting end, tallying six and four assists for the set, respectively.
An Owls season-opening reverse sweep wasn't to be, unfortunately. Although Woods' five kills were one fewer than the Falcons in set five, the Owls hit -.095 while Friends recorded a .385 clip.
Overall, William Woods did well putting down kills with 68 of its 82 points from a .225 hitting percentage happening in that way. Friends had 48 kills with a .221 hitting percentage.
Eastern Arizona transfer Marcolino put in quite the debut for the Owls, registering a match-high 20 kills that put her two away from the WWU single-game top five in kills. Familiar offensive leaders for WWU from a season ago also excelled, with Paiva Pereira recording 17 kills (.314 hitting percentage) and Pamela Durazo 11 kills (.500 hitting percentage) and a match-high seven blocks. Treis provided a match-high 33 assists - 10 more than any other player - and served a team-high three aces.
Mid-America Christian Match
Playing a more efficient game offensively in front of a lively student section, the Owls of William Woods ensured an opening-day win by cruising to a 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 straight set triumph over the Evangels of Mid-America Christian.
Although Mid-America Christian stayed within striking distance of William Woods, the Owls hit .444 to the Evangels' .226 and never trailed in set one after their 7-2 run broke a 4-all tie and gave them an 11-7 advantage. Three Owls had a kill in that period, while Sander provided three assists. The Evangels trimmed their deficit to 13-10, but William Woods answered by increasing its lead to as much as six points (20-14) with a Marcolino kill off a Sander helper, getting the Owls that point. Paiva Pereira sealed set one for WWU, winning two of the Owls' final three points, the set-decider on a kill from a Treis pass.
The Woods dominated the second set even more so, using three of Mid-America Christian's seven errors in the set to go up 10-3. Woods didn't waver, winning another set by four points as Durazo recorded four kills, Sander posted eight assists and Treis pitched in six assists for the set.
Marcolino did her part attacking-wise to secure a William Woods sweep, registering half of her 10 kills in the third set - Owls had 14 kills as a team in the set. The Evangels didn't go down without a fight, however, tying it nine times, with the last instance being at 20-all. Unable to avoid the sweep, Mid-America Christian handed WWU four of its final five points by way of attacking errors or bad sets; a Carlos de Silva kill, assisted by Treis at 22-20, gave the Owls the other point of their final five that locked down their first win of 2025.
In a consistently solid offensive day, William Woods totaled 43 kills (.286 hitting percentage), seven blocks and five aces to Mid-America Christian's 34 kills (.162 hitting percentage), three blocks and four aces.
Joining Marcolino in the Owls' standout offensive trio were Durazo with a match-high 11 kills (.611 hitting percentage) and 1½ blocks and Paiva Pereira with 10 kills (.500 hitting percentage) and three blocks. Treis and Sander notched a match-high 23 and 17 assists apiece to guide WWU's support. Defensively, Miller collected a team-high 15 digs.
William Woods is back at it for two more in its home invitational on Friday, taking on Haskell Indian Nations University (0-0) at 11 a.m. and Justice University (0-0) at 5 p.m.
