Eagles Down Bulldogs on Senior Day

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (10/26/24) – The Williams Baptist University volleyball team took down Tougaloo College on Senior Day in the Southerland-Mabee Center by the final score of 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-6) on Saturday afternoon.

Seniors Sarah Hunter and Alonna Thomas were honored in a pre-match ceremony.  Hunter has played for WBU for two years and joined the staff as a student assistant coach for this season, while Thomas has played all four years of her collegiate career with the Eagles.

Meadow Jones led the team in kills in the match with 16.  Jayla Weddington also added 13 and Tinleigh Ruhman piled on 10 more.  Ruhman also recorded three solo blocks in the match.

As a team, WBU hit .128 and held Tougaloo to just .103.  

In the first set, Williams took a 16-10 lead on a Faith Raymond service ace before the Bulldogs fought back to bring it within one.  That was as close as TC got, however, as the Eagles closed out a set one win on a Bulldog attack error, 25-20.

The Eagles used a 9-1 run to gain a 16-7 advantage in the second set, but the Bulldogs stormed back once again with an 8-1 run of their own to cut the lead to 18-17.  A Faith Raymond kill added some breathing room, but Tougaloo the set at 21 on a set error from WBU.  Tinleigh Ruhman brought the score to 24-23 in favor of the Bulldogs, but WBU was unable to complete the comeback, falling 25-23 in the second.

Williams stormed out to another big lead in the third, punctuated by a kill from Weddington.  Tougaloo forced a WBU timeout with an 8-0 run late, but the Eagles regrouped and clinched the third set on a kill from Meadow Jones, 25-22.

A late 5-1 run put Tougaloo ahead 23-19 in the fourth set.  Two attack errors forced a TC timeout, and the Eagles used a Weddington Kill and a Riley Henson ace to tie it up at 23.  Despite the fight, the Bulldogs found the last two points to send the match to a deciding set five.

WBU took control in the fifth set with a 5-0 run before the switch to go up 8-2.  After a Bulldog timeout, Darcy Broglin and Alonna Thomas notched a pair of kills to set up match point for the Eagles.  Senior Alonna Thomas smashed the game-clinching kill on her Senior Day to take a 15-6 win in the fifth set.  The Eagles hit .533 and held Tougaloo to a hitting percentage of .000 in the final set to clinch the win.

The win moves WBU to 7-17 overall on the season.  Williams will return to the court on Friday, Nov. 1 for an American Midwest Conference matchup against the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy.  The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start from the Southerland-Mabee Center on the campus of Williams Baptist University.