Men’s Volleyball Releases Inaugural Schedule
Oskaloosa–Nearly two years after the announcement of William Penn adding the sport, the men’s volleyball team will begin its inaugural campaign next spring.
The squad announced its schedule, which will have eight home dates to complement 14 away contests. The year will start with four important Heart of America Athletic Conference matches, beginning with the season and home opener against Clarke on January 21. Two more league battles follow before WPU takes on Grand View, a program which finished fourth in the NAIA polls a year ago and won the national crown two seasons ago. Overall, the Statesmen will take on four programs that were ranked or received votes in last year’s final coaches’ poll.
The weekend of February 7-8 will feature a quadrangular hosted by WPU that will also include Jamestown, Viterbo, and Indiana Tech. The Statesmen will then hit the road for three matches, highlighted by a feature against Mount Mercy, which was ranked ninth to end last year. Three matches at home over 10 days will then take place at the end of February, with an away trip to Missouri Valley sandwiched in between.
The navy and gold will not play at the Penn Activity Center for almost a month as they travel throughout Iowa and Illinois for both conference and non-conference contests. The final home match of the campaign will be March 24 against Missouri Valley, while the final meetings of the season will both take place on March 28, against Cumberland (Tenn.) and Viterbo.
The Heart will have eight teams in the conference this year with the top six battling it out in the conference tournament. The winner will receive an automatic bid for the second annual NAIA National Championship, returning again to Des Moines from April 14-18. Eight teams qualify for the national tournament. Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) claimed the 2019 crown with a win over Aquinas.
“We are excited to start our inaugural season this January,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “Competing in the Heart is going to provide some great experience for our young team. We think our schedule as a whole should allow for some great competition and exciting matches in the PAC this coming winter! We are looking forward to introducing men’s volleyball to Statesmen Nation.”
