Lepper, Campbell Pace Statesmen Through Big Weekend
Oskaloosa–William Penn Women’s Volleyball hosted the first annual Wendy’s Labor Day Classic this weekend inside the Penn Activities Center.
The tournament was composed of eight teams with representatives from four different conferences.
The Statesmen (5-4) finished play 2-2 over the weekend. The ladies dropped the first game on Saturday in five sets against Dakota Wesleyan (25-17, 16-25, 25-27, 25-23, 11-15) but came back in their second game of the day to sweep Robert Morris in straight sets (25-19, 25-11, 25-20). On Sunday WPU had similar results, dropping the morning game to Saint Mary (Kan.) in four sets (27-25, 19-25, 18-25, 23-25) but once again came back in the afternoon to cap off the weekend with a win over Avila in four sets (25-14, 23-25, 25-14, 25-17).
WPU 2, DWU 3
The navy and gold got things going early as they hosted Dakota Wesleyan in the opening game. The game almost marked the first one played on the new court in the Penn Activities Center where all Women’s and Men’s Volleyball games will be held.
Unfortunately, the Statesmen dropped a five-set match against an undefeated Dakota Wesleyan squad despite outhitting them .148-.142.
Three Statesmen finished with double-digit kills led by Corrin Lepper (So., Jefferson City, Mo., Exercise Science) with a game-high of 20 while Danielle Pendzinski (Sr., Winnebago, Ill., Elementary Education) and Libby Zorn (Jr., Billings, Mont., History) finished with 12 and 11 respectively.
Annalise Whitcomb (Jr., Humboldt, Kan.) did a nice job running the offense for William Penn as she finished with 44 assists in the matchup. Sydney Roush (Jr., Osceola, Wis.) also did a nice job with limited opportunities as she finished with 10 assists.
Along the back row there was some nice play out of a pair of defensive specialists as the libero Cameryn Campbell (Jr., Jefferson City, Mo.) finished with 28 digs and Casi Gacusana (Sr., Kea’au, Hawaii, Biology) was just behind her with 26 digs.
WPU 3, RMU 0
The ladies bounced back after a tough loss and came back to grab a win over Robert Morris in convincing fashion.
The offense got into a nice rhythm early and didn’t let the foot off the gas pedal as they outhit the Eagles .284-.070.
Lepper finished with a very efficient 11 kills at a .348 clip while Pendzinski hit at an incredible .500 attack percentage while tallying 10 kills.
The two-setter combination of Whitcomb and Roush was again on display as the duo finished with a combined 28 assists.
Jada Perkins (Jr., Omaha, Neb.) had a nice all around game as she tallied eight kills and 14 digs, narrowly missing a double-double. Campbell again led the team in digs with 15.
WPU 1, USM 3
William Penn began day two with another tough loss to a solid Saint Mary Spires squad in four sets. WPU got off to a quick start taking an exciting first set by the score of 27-25. However, the navy and gold couldn’t quite get back on track as they dropped the final three sets.
The Spires outhit the Statesmen by a wide margin of .216-.136. A trio of ladies finished with double-digit kills in the contest for the navy and gold. Zorn had a team-high 16 finishers while hitting at an impressive .455 clip. Lepper and Pendzinski finished with 12 and 10 kills respectively in the setback.
This time it was a trio of ladies who ran the offense from the setter position for the Statesmen. Macy Bailey (Fr., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management) made the most of her opportunity as she tallied 20 assists. Roush produced 12 helpers while Whitcomb chipped in with 10.
Campbell once again paced the Statesmen defensively with 17 digs. Bailey ended the match with 15 digs giving her a double-double, her first in a William Penn uniform. Cecily Liphardt (Fr., Lincoln, Neb., Psychology) also had a nice outing in her first real consistent time on the floor finishing with 10 digs.
Lepper also managed to finish with two solo blocks to her credit.
WPU 3, AU 1
The ladies were able to finish up the weekend on a high note, coming out victorious over Avila in the final game of the tournament in four sets.
The Statesmen outhit the Eagles by a big margin .183-.066.
Once again, it was Corrin Lepper who capped off her great weekend, leading her squad with 15 kills. Alyssa Young (Fr., Winter Springs, Fla., Biology) brought some much needed reinforcement after a long weekend tallying 10 kills while hitting at a .292 hit percentage.
Bailey was tasked with running the offense for the most part in the win, finishing with 21 assists. Roush provided some relief off the bench finishing with 10 helpers.
WPU got great play defensively from a quartet of players. Paced by Campbell who produced 18 digs, they also received notable performances from Perkins who finished with 17 digs to go along with her six kills, Bailey tallied 13 digs to her a second consecutive double-double, and Gacusana ended the weekend with 10.
Next Up: William Penn will head south to Fayette, Mo., as they begin Heart of America Athletic Conference play with a matchup against #17 Central Methodist on Wednesday, Sept. 4, beginning at 7 pm.
