William Penn Swept by #1 Vanguard
Costa Mesa, Calif.–The Statesmen men’s volleyball team started its Golden State tour with a matchup against the top team in the NAIA, but unfortunately it fell short of the upset in a 3-0 loss to #1 Vanguard Tuesday.
#8 WPU (15-7), which fell by scores of 21-25, 19-25, 23-25, hit a strong .314, but also permitted the Lions (12-3) to attack at a .432 mark. The visitors lost the battle of the aces (6-4) and blocks (7-3) as well.
The opening set featured four early lead changes. Up 10-9, the navy and gold unfortunately allowed the Lions to go on a 10-3 run. William Penn refused to quit, however, posting runs of three and four consecutive points to get close, but could not get over the hump.
Set #2 was also taken by VU as the home squad pulled out to a 9-3 advantage. The Statesmen found a rhythm, though, and played the Lions even the rest of the way.
Although it was now behind 2-0 in the match, WPU had gathered momentum with its solid play down the stretch in the previous set and carried that into the third round. The set included numerous ties and lead changes, and with the score tied at 14-14, the Statesmen tallied five of the next seven points, including two aces by Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management).
Unfortunately, Vanguard answered with four straight to take the lead for good. William Penn managed to tie the set three more times, but at 23-23, the hosts closed the night with back-to-back points. The Statesmen had their best hitting performance of the night in the third at .364.
Landon Krause (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management) topped his crew with 11 kills in addition to two aces. Papes was next with eight winners, while also guiding the back row defense with six digs.
Eli Herro (Sr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) also recorded eight kills on a team-high .667 hitting clip, while Charlie Figy (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education) finished with six hitting points. Figy was WPU’s top net defender with two block assists.
Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) dished out 33 assists Tuesday.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Santa Clarita, Calif. Wednesday to face The Master’s at 10 p.m. (Central)
