Statesmen of the Week: Ben Cemeno-Castillo and Laila Gutierrez
Oskaloosa– Men’s volleyball player Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Sr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) and softball player Laila Gutierrez (Jr., Seminole, Texas, Business Management) have been named the Statesmen of the Week for the week of February 9-15.
Cemeno-Castillo led William Penn to a 2-1 record last week, posting 49 kills (4.08 per set) on a .370 attack clip. Additionally, the senior tallied 22 digs and five blocks. His week started a bit slow with just eight kills against Mount Mercy last Tuesday, but he quickly became a workhorse for the Statesmen. Cemeno-Castillo was fed the ball 48 times versus Morningside last Friday, converting 24 of those attempts into winners with just one error (.470 attack pct.). He also had 13 digs for a double-double. The following day against Dordt, the senior contributed 17 kills on a .389 hitting rate.
Gutierrez started her Statesmen career with a bang, hitting .579 (11-for-19) with seven runs and four RBIs. Her efforts led WPU to a 4-2 record at the Rosemont Dome Tournament last Thursday through Saturday. The junior, who also walked four times and was successful in all five of her stolen-base attempts, had a base knock in all six games, including four contests with multiple hits. Her best showing came against Indiana Wesleyan last Saturday as she finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, one walk, and two stolen bases.
