Lady Eagles Defeat Pioneers at Home

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark.  (10/3/24) – The Williams Baptist University volleyball team took down rival Crowley's Ridge in an American Midwest Conference matchup on Thursday night by the final score of 3-1.

Jayla Weddington took the team-lead with 13 kills on the night.  Tinleigh Ruhman and Meadow Jones piled in 10 of their own as well, and Natalie Collier added another seven.  Jaycie Cook had 35 assists to power the Eagles offense to a big conference win.

The two sides traded the lead back and forth in the first set.  WBU cut the Pioneer lead to one point late after an attack error, but were unable to carry the momentum and fell in the first set 25-21.

The Eagles responded to the set one loss by taking seven of the first 10 points in set two.  A Pioneer attack error forced a Crowley's Ridge timeout, but the Eagles stayed hot.  Two Tinleigh Ruhman kills punctuated a bounce-back set win for WBU, taking the second set 25-19.

A Jayla Weddington kill sparked a 12-4 run for the Eagles late in the third set that the team rode through to a 25-16 win to go up 2-1.

The Pioneers would not go down quietly in the fourth, taking an 18-16 lead with a pair of Eagle errors.  The Eagles gained back the lead and the momentum after a Darcy Broglin kill.  Tinleigh Ruhman forced the final Crowley's Ridge timeout with a rejection that gave WBU a 23-21 lead.  Jayla Weddington finished the match with two kills in a row to give Williams a 25-21 set win, and 3-1 match win.

The win moves the Eagles to 1-2 in AMC play on the season.  WBU will be back on the court on Tuesday, Oct. 15 in Columbia, Mo. against Stephens College.  The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start time.