Lady Eagles Drop Thursday Night Contest to Panthers

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark.  (9/4/25) – The Williams Baptist University volleyball team lost to Philander Smith by the final score of 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-19) inside the Southerland-Mabee Center on Thursday night.

Tinleigh Ruhman led the team with five kills on the night, and Natalie Collier followed with four.  Collier also posted five total blocks in the match.  Lynsey Gordon paced the squad with 12 digs, while Desirae Walker and Hope Raymond both collected 11 digs.

As a team, WBU collected 20 kills and 55 digs on a -.018 hit percentage.  Philander Smith posted 37 kills on a .124 hit percentage on the night.

After WBU took four of the first six points of the match, PSU posted three straight to take an early 5-4 lead.  After a Hope Raymond ace, Philander responded with six straight to take another lead at 14-13.  The Panthers secured the final four points in a row to take the first set 25-18.

Late in the second set, WBU took five points in a row behind the strong serve of Halie Sutton to take a 21-19 lead.  Later, a kill from Darcy Broglin gave WBU set point, but Philander managed to take three in a row and the set by the score of 27-25.

In the third set, a kill from Rickale Green gave PSU a 19-13 lead.  WBU responded with a 6-0 run out of a timeout behind the serve of Amber Kahler to tie the set at 19 all.  Despite the effort, the Eagles fell short in the third 25-19 to give the Panthers the win in straight sets.

The loss drops Williams to 0-7 on the season.  WBU will begin conference play on Tuesday, Sep. 9 against Crowley's Ridge College.  The match is set for a 5 p.m. start from the Carter Activities Center in Paragould, Ark.