Statesmen Fall to Pirates on the Road
Parkville, Mo.–The William Penn men’s volleyball team had a rematch against the Park Pirates on Tuesday. After winning their first matchup in five, the Statesmen fell in five sets of 29-31, 25-27, 25-22, 25-19, 7-15.
The Pirates opened with a lead, but WPU evened the game at the midway point. The score remained deadlocked for nearly the entire set, as the two were tied at every step of the way from 20 to 29, but the Pirates earned the last two points to take a thrilling opening set 31-29. Landon Krause (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) had a big first set with eight kills, while Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Business Management) contributed five.
The Statesmen found themselves on the wrong side of another long second set, but captured the third to keep the game alive. The Pirates led 14-12, but WPU battled back and used a late 4-1 run to take the lead, and held on to force a fourth. The Statesmen had their best offensive showing of the game, hitting .520 after earning 14 kills and committing only one error.
For the first time in the match, the navy and gold got out to an early set lead, keeping their momentum from the third quarter to take a commanding 14-5 lead. The Pirates went on a string of small runs at the end of the set, but the visitors held on to force a fifth set. WPU hit a strong .393 in the set, while holding the hosts to a measly .091 clip.
Unfortunately, Park opened the fifth with a 5-1 run, and the Statesmen never got their feet under them as the Pirates finished the match with a 15-7 victory.
Krause had a game-high 25 kills, attacking at a .340 clip while adding 12 digs and two service aces. Papes chipped in with 14 kills as well. The two middles each had big days, as Eli Herro (Jr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) reached double digits with 11 finishers and Charlie Figy (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) had a mistake-free seven kills. The two were each a part of six blocks as well.
Connor Muff (Sr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) finished with a school-record 56 assists, assisting in five blocks to boot. Krause led the Statesmen with 12 digs, while Carlos Garcia (Jr., Laredo, Texas, Nursing) and CJ Rettig (Jr., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education) were heavily involved defensively with 11 and nine, respectively.
What’s Next: The Statesmen have another tough matchup on Friday, as they will hit the road to face the #6 Missouri Baptist Spartans. In their previous matchup, the Statesmen won in five sets. That contest is scheduled to begin at 7 PM.
