Postseason Run Ends with Heartbreaking Semifinal Loss
Cedar Rapids–The William Penn men’s volleyball team pushed the top team in the land to the brink, but saw its record-breaking season come to an end with a 3-2 loss to #1 The Master’s in the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship Friday.
#5 WPU (24-7) fell by scores of 21-25, 28-26, 25-17, 18-25, 13-15. It was the first trip out of pool play for the Statesmen in their second trip ever to nationals.
The navy and gold, who were outhit just .317-.314, could not slow down the Mustangs (26-2) in the first set, allowing a .483 attack clip.
William Penn finally settled in during the second round and went point-for-point with the top overall seed. The squad had three set points before eventually claiming it via consecutive errors from TMU. The Statesmen turned the tables in the second set, posting a .419-.323 hitting advantage.
The momentum from the win rolled into the third and WPU sprinted past The Master’s, outhitting its foe .310-.061. WPU was outblocked 9-7 in the contest, but managed three stops in the third to go on top 2-1.
The 17 points are the second-fewest for The Master’s this season.
Unfortunately, the Mustangs regrouped and regained their form to force a fifth set. They continued to cruise with the first four points of the fifth and deciding round, but the Statesmen were not going down without a fight.
Still down four at 9-5, kills by Landon Krause (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management) and Devyn Zavala (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Wellness and Recreation) helped the Statesmen pull even at 9-9.
TMU responded with three of the next four points, but WPU refused to go away and caught the Mustangs one final time at 12-12. Unfortunately, The Master’s was too strong down the stretch, and despite one final kill from Charlie Figy (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education PE K-12), the Statesmen were eliminated from the tournament.
Ike Papes (Sr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management) guided the offense with 17 kills, while Krause (13) and Figy (12) also hit double figures. The duo of Zavala and Britten Beallis (So., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) contributed seven winners each as well.
Matt Helmick (Sr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) recorded 52 assists and just missed a double-double with eight digs, while Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Fr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) guided the back row with 11 digs.
Krause wrapped up the match with a pair of aces. He, along with Figy and Beallis, also managed three blocks apiece on Friday.
“This was an incredible year for our program,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “We are saying goodbye to a great group of seniors. It is hard to put into words what this year and this group means. For now, though, the best word that comes to mind is legacy. This group will be remembered forever.”
