Eagles Defeat Tigers in Home Opener

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (9/17/24) – The Williams Baptist University volleyball team took down Champion Christian College in its home opening match on Tuesday night by the final score of 3-1.

Jayla Weddington took the team lead in kills with 16 in front of the first friendly crowd of the season.  Jaycie Cook delivered 26 assists, and Riley Henson paced the squad with 15 digs.

WBU quickly took control of the first set thanks to a 10-1 run that forced a Tiger timeout.  The Tigers regained some ground with three straight points to bring the score to 21-17, but Williams responded with four straight of its own to take the first set 25-17.

Champion responded at the beginning of the second set, taking the first four points.  A 7-3 run gave Champion a 19-13 lead.  Williams fought for the comeback, responding with a 7-1 of its own to tie the set at 21.  A Tinleigh Ruhman block tied the set once again at 24, but Champion took the final two points of the set to take a hard-fought 26-24 win.

The Eagles bounced back in a big way after the set two loss, taking the first six points of the third set to take a 6-0 lead.  The Eagles dominated the set from start to finish, further distancing from Champion with another 9-1 run later on.  A Meadow Jones kill punctuated the big 25-11 set win.

Williams carried the momentum from the third set to the fourth, not allowing Champion to breathe with an 8-2 run to start the set off.  After Champion recovered with a 6-0 run of its own to tie the set at 8-8, WBU fired off a 14-2 run punctuated with a kill from Tinleigh Ruhman to keep the Tigers away.  Tinleigh Ruhman added the exclamation point on the fourth set with another kill, giving WBU a 25-13 set win and a 3-1 victory at home.

The Lady Eagles will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 20 in Holly Springs, Miss. against Rust.  The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m.