William Penn Claims First League Win Since 2015
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–For the first time in nearly two years, the Statesmen volleyball team walked off the court victorious in league play by defeating Mount Mercy 3-1 Friday.
WPU (5-10, 1-3 Heart) won the Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup by scores of 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-19. In their first conference win since October 2, 2015 (3-2 over Benedictine), the navy and gold outhit the Mustangs .240-.179.
Unfortunately, the Statesmen have little time to relish the victory as they are back on the court Saturday morning, hosting Clarke in Heart play at 10 a.m.
Once the Statesmen went ahead in a set Friday night, they refused to give the advantage back, going wire-to-wire in the first and fourth sets; they trailed just once in the second round.
Up just one at 14-13 in the opening set, WPU reeled off five straight points and held off a late MMU push to take the 1-0 edge. The second bout was a breeze for the hosts, who managed several small runs to go up by as many as 12 at 21-9 before settling on the nine-point triumph.
Mount Mercy (5-7, 0-3 Heart) was unwilling to go quietly into the night, though, pulling out to a 20-15 advantage in the third set. William Penn battled back to with two, but could get no closer.
The Statesmen did not permit the Mustangs from stealing any more momentum, however, as they scored seven of the first nine points in the fourth set and weathered a small push by the visitors to complete the victory.
Three navy and gold hitters reached double figures and four individuals were at or above a .290 mark. Nashali Cruz (Fr., Bayamon, P.R., Biology) blazed the trail with 15 kills and a .458 attack clip, while Jordan Carter (Jr., Sigourney, Iowa, Elementary Education) was next with 14 winners (.375). Claire Simmons (Sr., Williamsburg, Iowa, Psychology) was in double digits as well (11 kills, .290).
Kiara Davis (So., Thibodaux, La., Biology) added eight points (.500 clip) and Karissa Wilcoxson (Sr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Education) was good for another five kills.
Haley Smith (Jr., Adrian, Mich., Elementary Education) assisted on 50 points, while Ashley Miller (Jr., Kalona, Iowa, Exercise Science) dug 23 MMU attacks and also served up three aces. The home team produced 10 aces overall.
“We came out with a lot of fire in all three sets that we won and showed heart in battling back in the set we lost,” Head Coach Jennifer Carlson said. “We are very excited to get this win, but we know there is much more work to do to achieve our goals. If we continue to play at this level, we will be a tough team to beat.”
