No. 10 William Penn Rolls Past MVNU in Straight Sets
Oskaloosa–The No. 10 William Penn men’s volleyball team powered past Mount Vernon Nazarene in straight sets Wednesday in nonconference action.
William Penn (10-5) secured the 3-0 win over MVNU (8-7) with set scores of 25-20, 25-18, and 25-17. The Statesmen posted hitting percentages of .393, .536, and .333, while the Cougars finished at .167, .259, and .121.
The opening set began with Mount Vernon Nazarene taking a small lead before the Statesmen answered with a 6-1 run to move ahead 8-4. The teams traded points for much of the frame, but William Penn extended its advantage to five points at 20-15. The Cougars found some late energy but could not close the gap as the Statesmen claimed the set 25-20.
The second set opened tightly as the teams exchanged rallies until MVNU held a 10-9 edge. William Penn responded with five unanswered points and later added a 7-3 stretch to take control. The Cougars countered with a 5-2 run, but the Statesmen secured the set by claiming the final two points.
The third set followed a similar pattern with Mount Vernon Nazarene holding an 11-10 lead early. William Penn quickly shifted the momentum with a 9-1 run, aided by five Cougar errors, to take a commanding 19-12 advantage. The teams continued trading points down the stretch, but the Statesmen remained firmly in control and closed out the match with the final point.
Statistically, the Statesmen finished with a 50-32 edge in kills and committed 14 attack errors compared to 17 for MVNU. William Penn recorded a .419 team attack percentage, while Mount Vernon Nazarene hit .179. The Statesmen also performed well from the service line with two aces and seven service errors. The Cougars matched the ace total with two and committed six service errors.
[/sports/mvball/2025-26/bios/fellows_tommy_dls7]Tommy Fellows (So., Shorewood, Ill., Exercise Science) posted 13 kills, leading the Statesmen with a .435 attack percentage. [/sports/mvball/2025-26/bios/cemeno-castillo_ben_yqtg]Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Sr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) and [/sports/mvball/2025-26/bios/spanner_emilio_tbxs]Emilio Spanner (Sr., Sint Eustatius, Sports Management) added 10 kills apiece. [/sports/mvball/2025-26/bios/brinkman_ben_w7gf]Ben Brinkman (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) recorded nine kills with a .636 attack percentage, while [/sports/mvball/2025-26/bios/beallis_britten_lwzl]Britten Beallis (Sr., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) knocked down eight kills while hitting .800.
[/sports/mvball/2025-26/bios/zell_brady_o4ug]Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) directed the offense with 42 assists. [/sports/mvball/2025-26/bios/filippelli_joao_gabriel_nbn5]Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Jr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) anchored the defense with 13 digs, while Fellows followed with seven.
At the net, the Statesmen recorded three blocks, while Mount Vernon Nazarene finished with five.
“The biggest takeaway for us is that we did it in straight sets. Coming off of last night, a 3-1 loss, we thought the opportunity to win like this was important,” said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “At this point in the season, every game is big. We have nine left, and we have to take care of all nine of them.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Heart of America Athletic Conference action against Dordt Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Penn Activity Center.
