Statesmen Sweep Vikings for 20th Win of Season, Secure #3 Seed
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s volleyball team reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in 10 years as it took down rival Grand View 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Tuesday.
WPU (20-13, 13-6 Heart), which won by scores of 25-19, 28-26, 25-18, claimed the #3 seed for the Heart Tournament and will now host #6 seed Evangel in Saturday’s quarterfinals (Time TBD). William Penn fell 3-0 to the Valor on October 8 in Springfield, Mo., but have since gone 9-1.
After losing 19 consecutive matches to the Vikings (14-17, 12-7 Heart), the Statesmen have now won three in a row in the series. The victory is also the 20th of the year for WPU, the first time the program has hit the mark since the 2012 campaign.
The navy and gold outhit GVU .279-.134, including committing just 11 errors (26 for the visitors). The victors also topped the Vikings 4-2 in aces and walloped them 11-3 in blocks.
William Penn and Grand View were tied a few times in the opening set, but the visitors then used a few small runs to pull ahead 15-10. Kills by Andressa Borges (So., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management) and Alyvia Johnson (So., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) sparked the Statesmen, however, and then three blocks that all included Corrin Lepper (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Biology) brought them back to even at 16-16.
Each side recorded back-to-back points and then GVU went back up 19-18. That was the last lead the Vikings would hold in the set as Cecily Liphardt (Sr., Lincoln, Neb., Psychology and Business Management) stepped to the service line and stayed there for six straight points. The senior had two aces in the run, while Jade Melton (Jr., Hallsville, Mo., Psychology) also recorded a pair of kills as the Statesmen took the first set.
The second round was even tighter, featuring 12 ties and seven lead changes. WPU took control late and eventually led 23-20, but Grand View battled back and had a set point at 24-23. The Statesmen fortunately grabbed the next two points and eventually closed it out with a Borges kill and a block by Johnson and Alyssa Young (Sr., Winter Springs, Fla., Biology).
William Penn effectively crushed GVU’s hopes of getting back into the match with a 9-1 run in the third set to go up 11-3. The hosts were not threatened down the stretch to wrap up the win, their fifth in a row.
WPU had a balanced attack Tuesday as all six players that tallied a kill managed at least five. Johnson led the way with nine, while Borges was next with eight. The trio of Young, Lepper (.417 attack clip), and Riley Hungate (Fr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) contributed six winners, and Melton recorded five off the bench.
Macy Bailey (Sr., Bondurant, Iowa, General Accounting) assisted 23 times, while Liphardt added 10 digs to her two aces. Lepper was a part of seven blocks (two solos), while Young and Johnson each assisted on four net stops.
“Tonight was a huge win for the program and the current players,” Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said. “A huge shout-out to our past players who have helped get us to this point to make this happen. We talked prior to the game about taking care of the little things and that is exactly what we did from start to finish. All of our hitters were producing, giving our setters the option to set everyone, while our defense was picking up every ball that came their way. It is a great time to be playing our best volleyball and it is definitely a great night to be a Statesmen!”
