WBU Drops Both Matches of AMC Tri-Match

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (10/25/25) – The Williams Baptist University volleyball team fell in both of its matches of an American Midwest Conference Tri-Match inside the Southerland-Mabee Center on Saturday afternoon.

In the first match of the day, Williams fell to Cottey by the final score of 3-1 (14-25, 25-23, 16-25, 19-25).  

Tinleigh Ruhman led the team with six kills, and Payton Bond followed up with five.  Hope Raymond led the back row with 16 digs, and Desirae Walker paced the squad with 11 assists.  As a team, WBU put up 29 kills, 52 digs, and 25 assists.

After dropping the first set 25-14 and finding itself down 13-9 in the second, Williams rallied back to erase the deficit.  A kill from Halie Sutton finally put the Eagles in front in the frame 20-19.  WBU took three points behind the strong serve of Desirae Walker to make the lead 24-21.  Cottey scored twice to cut the lead to one, but Payton Bond notched the final kill to win the set.

Cottey responded by taking the third and fourth sets of the match to take the win.

In the second match of the day, the Lady Eagles fell to Central Baptist by the final score of 3-1 (25-23, 15-25, 19-25, 20-25).

Against the Mustangs, Tinleigh Ruhman led the offensive attack once again with 14 kills on a .289 hit percentage, followed by Alicea Epherson with a season-high seven kills on a .227 clip.  Desirae Walker posted 23 assists, and Faith Raymond led the back row with 17 digs.  As a team, WBU put up 41 kills, 39 assists, and 63 digs.

Late in the first set, a kill from Lakyn Johnson put the Mustangs in prime position in the first set at 23-19, forcing a Williams timeout.  Out of the timeout, WBU rattled off six straight points to win the frame 25-23.

Despite the rally, CBC won the next three sets.  A 9-1 Mustang run did the Eagles in in the second, and a similar 10-3 run put the Mustangs ahead for good in the third.

In the fourth set, WBU rallied to cut the lead to 21-20 after a Tinleigh Ruhman kill capped off a 6-1 Williams run, but the Mustangs took the final four points to win the match.

The Lady Eagles will be back in action on Thursday, Oct. 30 at home against Hannibal-LaGrange for Senior Night.  The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start, with Senior Night festivities set to take place at 5:55.