Statesmen Keep Rolling, Knock Off #4 Park

Oskaloosa–The hits just keep on coming for the William Penn men’s volleyball team. The Statesmen took down the #4 ranked Park Pirates in five sets on Tuesday by scores of 23-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 15-13. This is their third victory over a top 15 opponent this season, and the first time in program history defeating a team ranked in the top five. WPU moves to 6-1 on the year, and remains a perfect 5-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.

The opening frame began in the visitor’s favor as they used an early five point run to take an 8-4 lead. William Penn fought their way back into the set, and an ace from Connor Muff (Sr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) evened the score at 11. The two teams drew a standstill at nearly every step of the way toward the finish, but the Pirates finally gained an advantage late, taking a 23-21 lead to force a Statesmen timeout. After the break, Landon Krause (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) powered one home to help knot the score once again at 23, but Park took the final two points to steal the opening set. The navy and gold did well on defense, limiting the Pirates to a measly .179 hitting percentage, but they had their own struggles with attacking, hitting only .136.

The second set was the definition of a back-and-forth battle, as William Penn and Park tied at every stop along the way to a 14-14 draw. CJ Rettig (Jr., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education) earned a kill to induce a timeout from the visitors, and although the Pirates got the first two points out of the break, the navy and gold rattled off five of the next seven points to take a strong 23-19 lead. Although Park made it interesting with three in a row of their own, Krause helped close the set with another kill and the match was evened up at 1-1.

A key third set opened up favorably for WPU after an ace from Eli Herro (Jr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) and another finisher from Krause highlighted a 6-3 advantage. The lead didn’t last long, and the Pirates quickly seized it back going on a number of short runs that quickly added up on the scoreboard. The Statesmen called a timeout trailing 19-14, but the Pirates had found their rhythm in all facets and never allowed them back in, taking a 2-1 advantage in the match after the biggest set win for either side.

In the fourth set, it was William Penn’s turn to enter the halfway point with momentum, as Charlie Figy (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) and Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Business Management) made their presence felt. Figy and Rettig combined for a block to send Luke Scheuble (Jr., Hemet, Calif., Wellness and Recreation) to the service line, then it was Figy and Papes coming together for another rejection. Papes then put another one on the court to cap a four point run, giving the hosts a 10-7 lead.

The two teams began trading points again, and the Pirates nearly tied the score again, bringing it to within one. Needing to gain separation, everything started to click at once. Krause and Rettig each had kills, then Figy and Muff came together for the stuff. Figy played the other side with a kill, and Herro joined in on the attacking party soon after with one of his own. Krause and Herro then combined for another huge stuff, and Park took a timeout with William Penn leading 21-17.

Points were traded once again until the end of the set, but that was plenty for the navy and gold to come away with a victory by that same four-point margin, as Krause punctuated the equalizing set with another pair of kills. Everything came together for WPU, as they hit a match-best .393 in the set while holding the visitors to their lowest attacking percentage of the night at .115.

Papes set the tone for the fifth set, doing so by ripping two kills off the block to keep the packed crowd at the Penn Activity Center on its feet. Krause powered one into a defender for another point, forcing Park to take an early timeout after conceding the opening three points. Krause and Herro earned yet another block at the net, but the visitors finally got on the board and made it 4-1. However, the tandem of Papes and Krause each came through with another kill each in very different ways. Papes placed a perfect tip right in the middle of everybody, and Krause ripped one right through the block, forcing Park to take their final timeout of the match with the Statesmen leading 6-1.

Papes didn’t let the timeout stop him, getting an ace right out of the break. The visitors got a couple points back, but Rettig got the hosts back on the right track with a kill, and a couple of unforced errors got the Statesmen to a 10-5 advantage. Papes slammed another one home, but a couple points from Park induced a timeout from William Penn as they tried to quell some of the brewing momentum from the Pirates.

The timeout worked well, and the next serve from Park went into the net. Krause put WPU one point closer with another kill, but Park responded back with two. Herro drove one home to bring the Statesmen to match point at 14-11, but Park continued to be resilient, making it a one point game once again and threatening to tie. The final timeout of the match was called with the navy and gold holding on to a slim 14-13 advantage. The serve was true from the Pirates, and the set went towards Figy. His initial attempt was sent back over, but he got it right back and drove it even harder. A circus attempt to send the ball over failed, and the PAC erupted as the Statesmen remained perfect in the Heart.

Papes and Krause paced the offense with 19 and 17 kills, respectively. Herro had a monster game in the middle, hitting .438 with nine kills and accounting for four blocks. Rettig also had a big all-around game with eight kills and six digs, including a number of clutch digs down the stretch in the fifth set.

Figy was his usual disruptive self in the net, totaling four blocks, while Papes was also a part of four rejections. Papes led the back row with eight digs, while Charlie Bruecker (Fr., Kaukauna, Wis., Business Management) complemented his efforts with seven. Muff, the reigning NAIA setter of the week, assisted in 48 of the team’s 57 kills.

“What another great night for our program,” said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “It’s hard to top the win last week, but these guys keep surprising us. So proud of this entire group. We’re excited to keep grinding.”

What’s Next: Things don’t get any easier for the Statesmen in their next matchup. They will have a week to prepare for their next test; a home matchup with the #1 ranked Grand View Vikings on Tuesday, February 8. First serve from the PAC is scheduled for 7 PM.