WPU Opens Campaign at Our Lady of the Lake Tournament
San Antonio, Texas–The Statesmen women’s volleyball team left the Lonestar Star state a bit snake-bitten as it posted a 1-4 record at the Our Lady of the Lake Invitational Thursday through Saturday.
In Thursday’s opener, William Penn (1-4) fell 3-2 to Kansas Wesleyan (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 22-25, 5-15).
On Friday, the navy and gold dropped another five-setter 3-2 to Paul Quinn (Texas) (25-23, 22-25, 25-13, 22-25, 10-15) before succumbing to Science and Arts (Okla.) 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 22-25, 12-25).
The Statesmen came up short to host Our Lady of the Lake 3-0 (14-25, 22-25, 11-25) on Saturday before finally getting into the win column later in the day against John Brown (Ark.) 3-2 (25-22, 13-25, 27-29, 25-10, 15-12).
Kansas Wesleyan 3, WPU 2
The Statesmen held a .169-.158 attack advantage (high of .342 in the first set) and were up 2-1 in the match, but were unable to close it out.
Maju Vieira (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) paced her squad with 16 kills on a .308 hitting clip.
The trio of Abigail Mitchell (Sr., Oxford, Ala., Nursing), with a .348 attack rate, Emma Skoglund (Fr., Branson, Mo.), and Hailee Pesek (Sr., New Hampton, Iowa, Nursing) also reached double figures with 10 kills apiece.
Mariah Reed (Jr., Fulton, Mo., Business Management) was good for five winners as well.
Courtney McWilliams (So., Rockton, Ill., Nursing) assisted on 31 kills, while Maddy Gustafson (Jr., Marion, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) led the defense with 26 digs. Mitchell added 14 digs to complete her double-double, while McWilliams nearly notched a double-double as well with nine digs. The sophomore topped the serving efforts with three aces.
Skoglund headlined the net defense with four blocks (three solos).
Paul Quinn 3, WPU 2
WPU again held a 2-1 advantage in the match, and again outhit its foe (.160-.118), but again failed to hang on for the win.
Vieira recorded a huge double-double with 23 kills and 22 digs. Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (Sr., Surprise, Ariz., Biology), with 13, and Skoglund, with 10, also eclipsed double digits, while Pesek ended the match with seven kills.
McWilliams notched 42 assists, while Gustafson guided the back row with 25 digs. Alix Robinson (So., Pontiac, Ill., Political Science and History) served up three of the team’s seven aces.
Science and Arts 3, WPU 1
The Statesmen struggled to get much going, losing the attack column .288-.102.
Skoglund was the lone bright spot on the offensive end, finishing with nine kills on a strong .533 mark.
Bojorquez-McFadden was next with seven terminations, while Pesek and Vieira each added five. McWilliams (22 assists), Gustafson (12 digs), and Brooklyn Grisolono (So., Kewaskum, Wis., Nursing) (three aces) were contributors as well.
Our Lady of the Lake 3, WPU 0
OLLU did not serve as kind hosts to William Penn, holding a .279-.011 margin in hitting.
Bojorquez-McFadden headed the navy and gold with five kills, while Leah Meyer (Fr., Houston, Texas) was the team’s most productive setter with 10 assists. Gustafson finished with 10 digs.
WPU 3, John Brown 2
Paced by a .228-.194 hitting edge, the Statesmen finally earned their first win of the campaign. The squad trailed 2-1 in the match, but dominated the fourth set with a .591 mark.
WPU then carried that momentum into the final round, trailing just once at 7-6 before scoring four unanswered points and never trailing again.
Robinson was the star in the weekend finale, producing 17 kills on a .324 clip. Vieira was next with 15 kills, while the duo of Mitchell and Reed were good for seven each. Skoglund and Agnieszka Gastala (So., Bielsko-Biala, Poland, Business Management) both finished with five winners as well.
McWilliams ended the victory with 27 assists, while Gustafson matched that number in the digs department. Gastala also served up two aces in the triumph.
“This was not what we wanted from the opening weekend of the year, but it was great to finish with a tough five-set win,” Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said. “I saw a lot of great things as we tried a bunch of different lineups. Reflecting on the weekend, we just need to execute in big moments, capitalize by putting pressure on our opponents, and take care of the small things.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to St. Louis, Mo. next Friday and Saturday to compete in the UHSP Invitational. On Friday, the Statesmen face York at 1 p.m. and John Brown at 5 p.m., while on Saturday, WPU meets up with Friends at 1 p.m. and Freed-Hardeman at 3 p.m.
