Pair of Victories for Men’s Volleyball at Cumberland Invitational
Lebanon, Tenn. — Men’s Volleyball hit the road to end the week, making an almost 10-hour drive to Cumberland University for the Cumberland Invitational. With two games on the docket for Friday, the Statesmen first took on the Saints of Siena Heights before clashing with the hosting Phoenix for the second time this season. WPU took over after the first set against Siena Heights, winning 3-1, with scores of 25-14 (SHU), 25-23, 25-18, and 25-23. They then won by the same set-count against the Phoenix, losing the first set again 25-19, but winning the rest 25-23, 25-21, and 25-19. With two wins on the day, William Penn will improve to 8-8 overall.
Game 1: WPU 3 SHU 1
The Statesmen needed to shake some rust off after the long drive, as they could not quite get things going in the first. Ike Papes (So., Elwood, Ill, Business Management) got the first kill for WPU and soon the score would be tied 3-3. The Saints put up three in a row to take a 6-3 edge but the Statesmen returned the favor after a few rallies, tying the game at 10-10.
But from there, Siena Heights took flight, as they rolled out a 13-2 run to take a strangle hold on set one, eventually putting it away 25-14.
Getting back up to speed, the navy and gold equaled the Saints for the majority of the second set. Papes made the score 1-0 on a kill, followed by Connor Muff (Jr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) delivering an ace. The teams then exchanged points until it was 9-9, but the Statesmen soon grabbed the momentum. Behind an ace from Papes, the squad made it 14-10, forcing the Saints into a timeout.
WPU kept a four-point lead for awhile but Siena Heights then stormed back to tie the game at 16 all. Papes once more got the team ahead, notching two in a row, to take a 18-16 advantage. They kept that slim margin for the rest of the set, winning the frame on a service error 25-23. The team was highly efficient in the second, hitting .600, with 17 kills and only two errors.
After a 1-1 tie to start the third set, the offense went to work for William Penn. Eli Herro (So., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) and Leonardo Minetto (Fr., Florianopolis, Brazil, Political Science) each pounded down kills to make it 7-3. The Saints came close a couple of times in the period but they could not tie the game. CJ Rettig (So., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education) put the Statesmen up 14-12 and the lineup ran off from that point on, as the group kept a four- or five-point lead until they closed out the set 25-18. The team hit .318 in the third, with 12 kills and five errors.
The fourth set saw Siena Heights leap out to a 7-3 lead but Rettig and Anthony Torres (Fr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science) helped to bring the gap down to 7-6 with some powerful kills. Torres added an ace to the mix but WPU still trailed by a small margin. With the Saints still ahead, Papes delivered two-straight kills to tie the game at 10-10.
The score staid close until both teams were locked at a 15-15 score. Rettig made back-to-back kills, followed by one from Charlie Figy (Fr., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management), to take a 18-15 lead. The Statesmen kept the pedal down, getting kills from across the front row, to take the final set 25-23. The squad hit .244 in the final frame, with 17 kills and seven errors.
WPU hit .287 in the first match of the day, with 56 kills, 23 errors, five aces, eight total blocks, and 36 digs. Papes led the team with 20 kills and nine errors while also making seven digs. Herro had a great game, with 12 kills, no errors, two digs, and five blocks. Rettig tied his best offensive outing of the season, with 11 kills and four errors on 24 attempts, to go along with seven digs. Figy had eight kills and one block, while Muff picked up 52 assists. Garcia paced the field with nine digs.
Game 2: WPU 3 CU 1
The second contest of the day started in similar fashion to the first game, as the navy and gold lost the first set. Torres collected the first kill of the game to tie the score at 3-3 but Cumberland would inch out to a three-point lead.
William Penn came within two points at 9-7 but CU then bounded away with a 7-3 run to take a 16-10 lead. WPU put up a couple short runs but dropped the first 25-19.
Looking for a rebound set again, the lineup delivered. Rettig got the first kill for the navy and gold and a block from Figy tied the game at 4-4. The teams continued to exchange points until it was 14-14. After an attack error from the Phoenix, Figy slid home an ace and Papes put the team up two with a kill. The lead was short lived though, as CU came back to tie things at 18-18 and then 20-20.
A service error and a combination block from Muff and Figy put William Penn up 22-20. An attack error made it 22-21 but Figy, Papes, and finally Herro, all put down balls to keep WPU ahead over the closing moments, as they helped the Statesmen take set two 25-23. The team hit .296 with 14 kills and six errors in the frame.
William Penn leapt out of the gate with authority to start the third, with Papes and the block putting up an 8-5 run. Herro was involved in a solo and a combination block, while Rettig sent one back the other way as well. Torres and Papes extended the advantage but the Phoenix then changed their plan of attack to climb back within two at 11-9.
Rettig netted another kill and Figy another block to put WPU ahead 13-10 and the team slowly extend that advantage to four points over the final few rallies. Papes put two balls to the floor to take the third 25-21, as the team hit .345 with 14 kills and four errors.
The start of the fourth favored the Statesmen again, this time on the back of an 8-4 run. Muff put down an ace and Herro launched another kill to make it 3-1. Rettig and Figy struck back-to-back to increase the lead to four at 9-5. CU then closed up to 13-10 but the navy and gold took back the momentum, with Papes and Torres getting kills to extend the lead to 16-11.
The Statesmen never looked back, as they closed out the fourth for the victory with a 25-19 result. WPU had 11 kills and one error in the final set for a .385 attack percentage.
For the game, the Statesmen hit .198, with 45 kills and 22 errors in 116 attempts. They recorded 45 digs and 12.5 total blocks.
Papes and Figy each had productive outings in the second match, as each had 12 kills. Rettig remained hot, with seven kills and eight digs. Torres improved in game two, producing eight kills and seven digs. Muff had 40 assists while Garcia picked up 11 digs in the match.
“Great day for our program today,” said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “The guys battled well and pulled out some tough sets against two strong teams.”
Next Up: One more game remains in Tennessee, with a match against Bluefield scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, March 6.
