Statesmen Topple Missouri Valley for Crucial Road Win
Marshall, Mo.–The William Penn men’s volleyball team collected a much-needed win Friday as it defeated Missouri Valley 3-1 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.
#14 WPU (3-5, 2-3 Heart) won by scores of 19-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22 despite being outhit .250-.229. In what has been a liability for the navy and gold so far in 2023, the visitors made up for their hitting deficit by tallying six more aces (12-6) than MVC. The Statesmen also committed just 15 services errors, compared to 18 for the Vikings (5-3, 2-2 Heart).
William Penn scored the first point of the evening as part of a quick 3-1 lead, but the hosts rallied with six of the next seven points and, courtesy of a .346-.037 attack advantage, easily took the first set.
Instead of wallowing in misery, the Statesmen immediately flipped the script at that point, improving on their hitting numbers in each ensuing set, beginning with a .150-.042 mark in the second.
The navy and gold scored the first point of the second round and pulled out to a 6-3 edge before MVC scored five in a row, unfortunately all due to William Penn errors.
Still down 11-8, the visitors returned the favor by taking advantage of numerous Viking errors, including a forced error as Anthony Torres (Jr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science) and Eli Herro (Sr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) recorded a block.
Now with a 13-11 lead, William Penn exchanged runs with Missouri Valley, headlined by a 7-1 streak by the visiting crew. That helped WPU go up 22-17 and it never relinquished the lead again in knotting up the match at 1-1.
For the third-straight set, the Statesmen managed the first point. The teams tallied sideouts for a short spell before the Vikings rattled off four straight to lead 7-5. William Penn responded in kind with three in a row and kept the hosts in the rearview with a .278-.190 attack edge.
WPU was on fire in the fourth, doubling its mark from the third at .556. Both defenses were actually quiet in the set, though, with MVC also hitting at a high clip (.400).
Another tight, back-and-forth bout was established from the start as neither crew could record a lead larger than two until Missouri Valley went ahead 18-15. The Statesmen fortunately recaptured their swagger with four of the next five points and then three consecutive errors by the Vikings helped William Penn pull away. Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management) finished it out with the last of his team-high 13 kills.
Friday’s match featured very few rallies as the combatants combined for just 47 digs, including 22 for the Statesmen. CJ Rettig (Sr., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education) headlined that effort with six digs.
Papes hit .292 for the night and also served up four aces. Herro was extremely efficient with eight kills on a .636 hitting mark, while Rettig also recorded five kills.
Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) tallied 27 assists, while the trio of Torres, Herro, and Charlie Figy (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education) all had a part in three blocks. Overall, the Statesmen nipped Missouri Valley 7-6 in blocks.
“This was a great road win for us,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “Our guys played hard and I am really proud of the resiliency they showed.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Canton, Mo. Saturday to play Culver-Stockton in Heart action at 7:30 p.m.
