William Penn Sweeps Grand View Again
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s volleyball team took sole possession of second place in the league as it swept #12 Grand View 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Friday.
Just as it did two weeks ago in Des Moines, #9 WPU (12-5, 11-3 Heart) needed just three sets, winning Friday’s matchup with scores of 25-16, 25-19, 25-23. The navy and gold not only outhit the Vikings .290-.175, but also owned advantages of 11-6 in blocks and 5-1 in aces.
The win is the 10th in a row for the Statesmen, setting a new program record for consecutive victories.
The hosts fell behind by three points early, but quickly got turned around, taking the lead for good at 13-12 on a kill by Landon Krause (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management). The junior finished with a team-high 15 winners on a .364 attack clip.
Still tight at 16-14 in favor of WPU, the Statesmen caught fire and scored nine of the final 11 points for an emphatic opening. The home crew held a .478-.111 hitting edge over GVU (13-5, 10-4 Heart) in the first round.
The second set was in a similar key to the first with the Vikings scoring early, going up 4-1, but William Penn responding and getting on top for good with back-to-back aces by Krause. He had a team-best three service points on the evening. WPU produced just 11 kills in the second, but Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management) accounted for six of them.
The Statesmen hoped to make easy work of GVU, but the visitors had other ideas and led for much of the third set. That was until William Penn scored four in a row, beginning with a kill via Charlie Figy (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education).
WPU led for the next few points, but the Vikings battled back and took one final lead at 19-18. The programs exchanged points for a short spell, but with the set knotted at 23-23, kills by Figy and Papes put a bow on the night.
Papes was right behind Krause with 14 kills on a team-high .367. Figy posted five winners, while Eli Herro (Sr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) contributed four more.
Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) managed 34 assists Friday, while defensively, Krause tallied 14 digs to complete a double-double.
Papes, Figy, and Herro were all a part of five blocks in the sweep.
“This was a great team win in a great atmosphere,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “I am so proud of how this group continues to fight every night.”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa next Tuesday to host Park in Heart action at 5 p.m.
