William Penn Survives in I-163 Battle Against Central
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Pella–The Statesmen volleyball team looked primed to close out its host early, but was forced to play an epic fifth set to drop Central in non-conference action Tuesday.
William Penn (6-7) won 3-2 by scores of 25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 22-25, 15-13.
The navy and gold were outhit .164-.037, but made up the difference at the service line with a 12-3 edge in aces. Danielle Breeher (So., St. Louis, Mo., Undecided) was the most productive server with five aces, while Dayna Sammons (Jr., Menomonee Falls, Wis., Software Engineering) and Sarah Stepp (So., Oakville, Mo., Undecided) each added two more winners.
The visitors trailed twice early, but after being down 6-4, they reeled off ten of the next 12 points and were never down again. The Dutch (2-4) cut the margin to one at 23-22, but WPU closed it out with two straight points.
The second set was also tight early with the home team on top 12-10. Fortunately, the Statesmen again made a run with six unanswered points and cruised to a commanding 2-0 advantage.
William Penn could not deliver the knockout punch, however, as Central picked up an easy win in the third set and then stormed out to a 10-1 lead in the fourth. The Statesmen finally regrouped, narrowing the deficit to 21-20, but failed to pick up the win and end the night.
A fifth and final set ensued and it was a barn-burner. The Dutch attacked first, but WPU answered with five of the following seven points and never trailed again. Central did not lay back, though, even when the visitors were up 12-8 and could have held on with sideouts.
Central went on to earn the next four points and then tied the navy and gold once again at 13-13, but back-to-back errors let William Penn escape.
The trio of Kristal Campos (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology), Shawni Wills (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology), and Kylie Giger (So., Elkhart, Ind., Exercise Science) guided the Statesmen with ten kills each.
Alanna Connors (Sr., Libertyville, Ill., Biology) just missed double figures with nine, but was the most effective swinger with a .094 clip. Jeanette Cunningham (Sr., Mt. Orab, Ohio, Elementary Education) was good for seven winners as well.
Sammons, with 24 assists, and Leyra Jusino (So., Bayamon, P.R., General Biology), with 17, combined for a solid setting duo.
William Penn also came up big on defense with a 98-77 margin in digs, highlighted by 22 from Connors. Breeher posted 19, while three others reached double digits as well.
Cunningham was credited with the squad’s lone solo block.
“We came out and played two great sets, but then sat on our heels a little and let Central back in the match,” Head Coach Jennifer Carlson said. “We lost the momentum and it took two sets before we got it back together in the fifth.”
“This was a good win on the road and I am proud of our players for battling back after losing the momentum,” Carlson added.
Next: William Penn comes home to Oskaloosa Wednesday to face non-conference foe Buena Vista in its home opener at 7:30 p.m.
