William Penn Drubs Iowa Wesleyan, MacMurray in Triangular
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Mount Pleasant–The Lady Statesmen volleyball team made quick, efficient work of two non-conference foes in a triangular Saturday.
William Penn (8-4) defeated swept both Iowa Wesleyan 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-16) and MacMurray (Ill.) 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-12).
The navy and gold hit .267 against the Tigers with Jeanette Cunningham (Jr., Mt. Orab, Ohio, Western Brown HS) pacing the way with six kills and a .545 attack percentage. Katie Rielly (Sr., Oskaloosa, Des Moines Area CC) and Lacey Taylor (Sr., Cedar, Iowa Western CC) contributed five kills as well.
Dayna Sammons (So., Menomonee Falls, Wis., Menomonee Falls HS) tallied 16 assists and Rielly recorded four aces. Sammons and Taylor were credited with three aces as well. The squad’s 12 aces are the most thus far in a single match this campaign.
Defensively, Rielly and Danielle Breeher (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Oakville HS) finished with 12 digs each and Cunningham blocked six shots for points (four solos, two assists).
The offense elevated its game even more for the MacMurray matchup, hitting .384 as a collective unit. Kylie Giger (Fr., Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart Memorial HS) returned from injury in style with a team-best 12 kills. Taylor joined her in double digits with 11 kills and team-best .588 hitting clip. Alanna Connors (Jr., Libertyville, Ill., Libertyville HS), with eight kills, and Cunningham, with seven kills, were productive as well.
Sammons assisted on 30 winners and Taylor served up three aces. Breeher’s 13 digs were a Lady Statesmen high, while Cunningham posted three block assists.
“I thought the ladies played great today,” Head Coach Jeremy Wise said. “We got stronger as the day wore on. Our serve reception was great in only giving up two aces all day. We played with intensity and our leadership and team chemistry was also very high. Overall, I was very pleased with our performance.”
Next: William Penn is off until next weekend as it travels to Clinton for the Ashford Invitational. On Friday, the Lady Statesmen face Culver-Stockton (Mo.) at 2 p.m. and Bellevue (Neb.) at 6 p.m. Depending on its record and match scores, the team will then be placed in one of three brackets (gold, silver, bronze) for Saturday’s competitions.
