WPU Narrowly Pulls Off Reverse Sweep of MVU
Marshall, Mo.–The Statesmen women’s volleyball team was on the verge of claiming a reverse sweep on the road, but was denied as it fell 3-2 to Missouri Valley in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Friday.
William Penn (11-16, 2-11 Heart) fell by scores of 21-25, 16-25, 25-19, 25-19, 13-15.
The visitors went back and forth early, eventually leading 12-11, but six Viking points in a row pushed WPU into a 1-0 hole.
The navy and gold were even through 18 points of the second set, but three separate runs made it a 2-0 advantage for Missouri Valley.
WPU refused to quit, leading for nearly the entire third round to stay alive. Then down 10-7 in the fourth, the Statesmen reeled off seven straight to pull even, forcing the match into a winner-take-all fifth set.
William Penn retained its momentum with a 6-1 advantage before MVU bounced back with a 10-2 run to go on top for good. The Statesmen closed to within one at 12-11, only to allow the hosts to close the night and deny the comeback.
The Statesmen lost despite owning a .167-.159 hitting margin. It was also easily the best blocking performance of the year for the navy and gold as they finished with 16 blocks (11 for Missouri Valley). The Vikings did hold an 11-5 edge in aces, however.
Three William Penn players reached double figures in kills, led by Alix Robinson (So., Pontiac, Ill., Political Science and History) with 16. Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (Sr., Surprise, Ariz., Biology) was next with 13, while Abigail Mitchell (Sr., Oxford, Ala., Nursing) had 10.
Maju Vieira (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) just missed the mark with nine, while Emma Skoglund (Fr., Branson, Mo., Nursing) added six more.
Courtney McWilliams (So., Rockton, Ill., Nursing) assisted on 26 kills, while Vieira topped the back-row defense with 17 digs.
Bojorquez-McFadden was a force in all aspects of the match, nearly posting a triple-double. She had to settle for a double-double as she also managed 11 digs along with a team-high eight blocks. Skoglund denied MVU six times, and Robinson did so on five occasions.
Mitchell joined Bojorquez-McFadden in the double-double club with 15 digs to accompany her kill total.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Fayette, Mo. Saturday to take on Central Methodist in Heart play at 11 a.m.
