Statesmen Upset #10 Saint Xavier
Quincy, Ill.–For the first time in program history, the William Penn men’s volleyball teamed earned a victory over a nationally ranked opponent, coming away with a win over the #10 Saint Xavier Cougars to close out their weekend. The Statesmen won in five sets over the Cougars, who qualified for the national tournament last season, by scores of 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 17-25, 16-14.
The opening set immediately swung in favor of the navy in gold with Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Business Management) leaving his mark immediately, earning a kill and two aces to help take a 5-1 lead. They continued to put the pressure on the Cougars, as Papes was joined by Landon Krause (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) in the early goings to help build the lead. Saint Xavier did make a late comeback attempt, bringing the score within one at 23-22, but a kill from Eli Herro (Jr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) and then a combined block from Charlie Figy (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) and CJ Rettig (Jr., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education) sealed the first set.
Papes began the second set with a kill, but the Cougars quickly captured momentum back on their side, taking a 10-6 lead to force a William Penn timeout. The navy and gold pushed back, bringing the deficit to one point on numerous occasions, but could not quite get over the hump as Saint Xavier surged late to pull away, evening the match at 1-1.
The Statesmen took the early lead to begin the third, but had the lead taken from them at about the midway point of the set as SXU took a 14-12 lead, but the navy and gold hit right back, going on a run to lead 19-16. After the score was knotted at 19, the two teams found themselves tied at every turn up until the score was 24-24, when Figy and Papes landed consecutive kills to give the Statesmen a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Looking to secure the victory, William Penn jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the potential final set. The Cougars had other plans, however, and utilized a number of runs to force a fifth and final set. The Statesmen just could not string anything together, and now found themselves in a do-or-die scenario in set five.
After Krause got the scoring started, a number of unforced errors from Saint Xavier boosted the Statesmen to a 7-3 lead, forcing a Cougars’ timeout. The visitors rallied to nearly tie the score, but the navy and gold pulled away once again, earning match point at 14-12 after another kill from Krause, but one more late rally evened the score at 14-14. The Statesmen responded well to the pressure, and Figy and Krause closed out the game with a pair of kills.
Krause led the offense with 18 kills and a .417 attacking percentage, also pacing the defensive effort with 13 digs. Papes complemented him with 14 kills, while Herro and Rettig added seven and six, respectively.
Connor Muff (Sr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) handled setting duties, earning an assist on 42 of the team’s 49 kills in the match. He also finished tied with Carlos Garcia (Jr., Laredo, Texas, Biology)for second on the team in digs with eight.
“Great win today for Statesmen MVB,” said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “Not only did we pull out a great match against a great opponent, our team beat a top 10 team for the first time ever. I’m so happy for our guys and how hard they have worked. They deserve all the credit.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen kick off a long homestand on Tuesday with a conference clash against the Mount Mercy Mustangs. First serve is scheduled for 7 PM.
