Offense Struggles to Find Rhythm Against Ravens
Atchison, Kan.–The William Penn women’s volleyball team had their win streak snapped on Saturday as they dropped straight sets against the Benedictine Ravens.
The Statesmen, who fell by scores of 11-25, 22-25, 11-25, fall to 16-10 overall while moving to 9-7 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
The navy and gold fell behind early in the first set, and the offense could not garner any momentum against the Ravens. Benedictine took a commanding 15-2 lead, and the early hole proved to be too large to overcome as the Ravens took an early 1-0 lead. Alyvia Johnson (Fr., Owatonna, Minn., Elementary Education) had four kills in the set.
William Penn got off to a much better start in the second set, as Alyssa Young (Jr., Winter Springs, Fla., Biology) had two kills and a block to boost the Statesmen to an early 5-1 lead. The Ravens, however, battled back to knot the score at 10, eventually retaking the lead 14-13. The Statesmen remained close, but could not go on a run to take the lead back as the Ravens took a 2-0 lead in the contest.
The Ravens jumped out to a big early lead in the third set, not because of any long sustained run, but from numerous short bursts of points. Every time the Statesmen scored, the Ravens responded with two or three of their own, a trend which added up quickly as William Penn soon found themselves trailing 18-8. The could not get back on track again, dropping the third set as the hosts completed the sweep.
Johnson led the team with 9 kills, while Corrin Lepper (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Exercise Science) added six kills on only seven swings. Young and Alicia Jaquez (Sr., Farmington, N.M., Biology) each finished with five.
Macy Bailey (Jr., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management) and Annalise Whitcomb (Sr., Humboldt, Kan., General Accounting) split setting duties, with the former earning 11 assists and the latter totaling nine.
Caidince Cleveland (Fr., Bettendorf, Iowa, General Accounting) led the defensive effort with 10 digs. Rebekah Eaves (Sr., Farmington, N.M., Elementary Education) trailed behind her with seven.
“Today wasn’t our best,” said Head Coach Aleesha Cleaver. “We’ve got to be able to bring our own energy and find our way on the road. We need to get back to work and get ourselves ready for Tuesday.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen hit the road again on Tuesday for a matchup with the Peru State Bobcats. In their first faceoff of the season, the Statesmen came away with a victory in straight sets.
