WPU Beats Graceland in Five
The Statesmen (16-7, 4-4 Heart) held off the Yellowjackets (11-16, 2-8 Heart) in five sets (22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 15-7). (photo by Denis Currier/Oskaloosa News)
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–William Penn entered Tuesday looking to get back in the win column and make a move in the Heart as the team took on Graceland.
The Statesmen (16-7, 4-4 Heart) held off the Yellowjackets (11-16, 2-8 Heart) in five sets (22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 15-7).
The navy and gold slugged it out against Graceland in the first four sets with back-and-forth action.
After the fourth set, the Statesmen found themselves in familiar territory heading into the fifth. Entering the contest, the team was 3-0 when heading to a fifth set.
WPU responded with a 15-7 victory and played their best set of the night hitting at a .444 clip. The win improved the teams record to 4-0 when going five sets.
“I thought we showed some mental toughness that we had been lacking leading up to this point” Head Coach Aleesha Cleaver said. “The fifth set was one of our best sets of volleyball we have played so far. We played with a ton of confidence which was fun to watch.”
On the attack, the Statesmen outhit the Yellowjackets .224-.179. Three attackers reached double-digit kill totals led by Corrin Lepper (Fr., Jefferson City, Mo., Exercise Science) with 17 while hitting at an impressive .486 percentage. Alicia Jaquez (So., Farmington, N.M., Biology) produced 12 of her own while Jordan Carter (Sr., Sigourney, Iowa, Elementary Education) rounded out the trio with 11.
Marie Garcia (Sr., Kaneohe, Hawaii, Communications) had her best game of the season tallying 23 assists to go along with seven digs. Haley Smith (Sr., Adrian, Mich., Elementary Education) continued her strong senior campaign with 22 assists and 15 digs. It was the 11th time this season Smith has marked at least 20 assists.
Ashley Miller (Sr., Kalona, Iowa, Exercise Science) finished with 37 digs to give her a total of 450 on the season as she continues to prove she is one of the best liberos in the Heart. The match marks the third time Miller has reached the 30-dig plateau and is her second highest output this season.
Next up: William Penn will travel to Springfield, Missouri to take on Evangel in Heart action on Friday at 7 p.m.
