William Penn Takes Season Finale Over Graceland
Lamoni–The Statesmen women’s volleyball team closed out its 2026 campaign with a victory, defeating Graceland 3-2 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.
WPU (13-19, 4-14 Heart) won by scores of 25-18, 21-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-5). The visitors made up for a rough middle of the evening with a hot start and even hotter finish.
William Penn opened with a .400 hitting clip in the first set. Down 13-9, the Statesmen took advantage of numerous Yellowjacket errors as they went on an 11-3 run en route to earn the 1-0 edge.
GU answered in the second round, but the navy and gold went back ahead in the third by hitting .160, while keeping the home team in the red at -.182.
William Penn unfortunately could not finish the evening in the fourth, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set. The Statesmen were behind early and led just 6-5, but back-to-back aces from Abigail Mitchell (Sr., Oxford, Ala., Nursing) were part of four unanswered points.
WPU hit .750 in the final round with 10 kills and just one error as it cruised to the victory in the set and match, sweeping the season series against Graceland.
William Penn, which outhit GU .204-.110, also posted category wins in aces (9-8) and blocks (12-2).
Seniors Hailee Pesek (Sr., New Hampton, Iowa, Nursing) and Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (Sr., Surprise, Ariz., Biology) both hit double figures, with 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Mitchell was next with seven, while Robinson and Emma Skoglund (Fr., Branson, Mo., Nursing) both managed six winners.
Leah Meyer (Fr., Houston, Texas, Business Management) posted a double-double with 26 assists and 12 digs, while the back row was guided by Maddy Gustafson (Jr., Marion, Iowa, Psychology and Human Services) and her 28 digs.
Alix Robinson (So., Pontiac, Ill., Political Science and History) and Mariah Reed (Jr., Fulton, Mo., Business Management) were the best Statesmen blockers with five denials each, while Mitchell highlighted the servers with three aces.
“Winning a five-set match is a great way to end the season,” Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said. “A lot of our seniors had great games to finish out their careers. I am proud of our five seniors on accomplishing four years of college volleyball. It is one of the hardest, but most rewarding things to accomplish.”
“It is only up from here,” Eldridge added. “We have a great group of returners coming back, and we look forward to getting after it in the spring with them.”
