Red-Hot Statesmen Sweep #7 Mount Mercy
Cedar Rapids–The William Penn men’s volleyball avenged a big loss as it swept #7 Mount Mercy 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Tuesday.
#9 WPU (10-5, 9-3 Heart), which won by scores of 25-16, 25-22, 25-20, returned the favor on the Mustangs, who had beaten the Statesmen 3-0 in Oskaloosa earlier this month (the squad’s last loss). William Penn has now won eight matches in a row, including a stretch of 24-straight sets. The win also moves the program into sole possession of third place in the league.
The visiting offense was well-oiled all evening as William Penn outhit its foe .390-.218, including recording a .462 mark in the first round.
Back-to-back Eli Herro (Sr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) kills got the Statesmen off to a hot start with four of the first five points. The Mustangs answered and eventually drew even at 7-7, but a kill by Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management) and an ace via Charlie Figy (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education) put the visiting crew on top for good.
The hosts grabbed the early 5-2 edge in the second set, but WPU bounced back in a battle that featured 10 ties with the last coming at 17-17. Landon Krause (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management), the defending Heart and NAIA Attacker of the Week, then took over with three unanswered kills to guide the Statesmen to another set victory.
William Penn was actually outhit .476-.343 in the second, but had many more attempts (35-21) which led to a 20-10 advantage in kills. Overall, the victors held a 45-29 edge in kills.
The sides were locked together six times in the third before consecutive Mount Mercy errors helped William Penn capture the lead. The Statesmen refused to give it back as they finished off the sweep.
Papes and Krause guided the victors with 13 kills each. Figy was right behind them with 12 winners on a team-high .733 attack mark. Herro added six kills as well.
Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) notched 36 assists in the setter role, while Krause was the top WPU server with three aces. Papes was the back row defensive leader with eight digs, while Figy and Krause both had three block assists in the triumph.
“This was a great road win,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “I continue to be so proud of our continued fight and relentless effort.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Lamoni Thursday to face Graceland in Heart play at 7 p.m.
