Lady Statesmen Sweep Knox Tourney
William Penn Women’s Volleyball home opener 2012 (file photo)
Galesburg, Ill.–The William Penn volleyball team extended its winning streak to six with a perfect weekend at the Knox Tournament Friday and Saturday.
The Lady Statesmen (16-6) opened Friday with a 3-1 win over host Knox (25-17, 24-26, 25-10, 25-14) before sweeping Buena Vista 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-23). On Saturday, the navy and gold swept Monmouth (Ill.) 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-18) and then dropped Lincoln Christian (Ill.) 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 37-35, 25-16).
The winning streak is the longest for the program since taking 11 straight from September 4-28, 2010.
William Penn 3, Knox 1
Lacey Taylor (Sr., Cedar, Iowa, Elementary Education) guided the offense with ten kills in the opener, while Katie Rielly (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Digital Communications) added seven winners and Kylie Giger (Fr., Elkhart, Ind., Undecided) had six.
Dayna Sammons (So., Menomonee Falls, Wis., Software Engineering) assisted 27 times, while Taylor produced 16 digs. Leyra Jusino (Fr., Bayamon, P.R., Biology) was terrific at the service line with six aces.
Giger topped the defensive net effort with four blocks (three solos, one assist).
William Penn 3, Buena Vista 0
Taylor was again the topper hitter against Buena Vista with eight kills, while Giger managed seven. Sammons finished with 24 assists and a team-high three aces. Defensively, Taylor and Danielle Breeher (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Undecided) dug ten attacks each. Taylor also tied Jeanette Cunningham (Jr., Mt. Orab, Ohio, Elementary Education) with three block assists.
William Penn 3, Monmouth 0
Cunningham and Rielly both reached a dozen kills versus Monmouth, while Taylor scored nine points offensively. A total of 33 assists were credited to Sammons, while Giger posted three aces.
Breeher’s 16 digs topped the Lady Statesmen on defense.
William Penn 3, Lincoln Christian 1
Game three’s 72-point marathon (37-35 WPU) was by far the highlight of the weekend. Taylor headlined the offense in the finale with 13 kills and Cunningham and Giger added 11 (Rielly had seven). Sammons saved her best for last with 41 assists.
Giger served up four aces and four blocks (two solos, two assists), while Breeher tallied 18 digs.
“We scored points when we needed them and finished off sets like we should,” Head Coach Jeremy Wise said. “I thought we played well overall and continued to build team chemistry. It is great to have a six-game winning streak heading into conference play.”
Next: William Penn opens Midwest Collegiate Conference action Tuesday by hosting St. Ambrose at 7 p.m.
