No. 6 William Penn Sweeps Clarke in Home Opener
Oskaloosa–The No. 6 William Penn men’s volleyball team opened its home schedule in dominant fashion, sweeping Clarke 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Tuesday.
William Penn (6-2, 3-1 Heart) secured the victory with set scores of 25-14, 25-12, and 25-19 against Clarke (4-3, 1-2 Heart). The Statesmen produced attack percentages of .448, .308, and .192 across the three sets, while the Pride posted clips of .190, -.200, and -.138.
The opening set belonged entirely to the Statesmen, who raced to a 14-4 advantage. Clarke responded with an 8-4 run to trim the deficit, but could get no closer than 18-11 before William Penn closed the frame on a 7-3 surge.
Set two followed a similar pattern. Holding a 13-7 lead early, the Statesmen used runs of 4-0 and 8-3 to pull away for a commanding 25-12 win.
William Penn jumped in front again in the third set, taking an 8-1 lead before Clarke answered with a 6-1 burst. The Statesmen regained control with a 5-1 run and maintained separation down the stretch, finishing the sweep with a 7-3 closing run.
Overall, William Penn held a 31-24 edge in kills and posted a .324 team attack percentage compared to Clarke’s -.057 mark. The Statesmen also capitalized on errors, forcing a 24-9 advantage in attack miscues.
Chase Alguire (So., Calgary, Alberta, Business Management) paced the offense with six kills, while Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Sr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) and Marton Sebestyen (Fr., Gyenesdias, Hungary, Business Management) added five each. Taylor Brummond (So., Winsted, Minn., Sports Management) led the defense with eight digs, and Cemeno-Castillo contributed five.
Cezar Pedroso (Jr., Curitiba, Brazil, Software Engineering and Information Technology) dished out 13 assists, followed by Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) with 10. At the net, Britten Beallis (Sr, Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) recorded six block assists and one solo block. Alguire delivered three service aces, while Brummond and Sebestyen each added two.
Next Up: William Penn continues its homestand next Sunday against Kansas Wesleyan in the Penn Activity Center at 1 p.m. in Heart action.
