Childers’ Career Night Pushes Statesmen Over Wildcats
Canton, Mo.–The William Penn women’s volleyball team trekked south on Friday to take on Culver-Stockton in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.
Head Coach Aleesha Cleaver’s squad has started off the season in strong fashion; entering Friday’s match, their overall record of 6-2 represented the best start in program history since 2003.
The Statesmen took victory over the opposing Wildcats in five sets (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 15-7). The win moves the ladies’ conference record to 2-1, while Culver-Stockton drops to 1-1.
The ladies struggled early on in the match, falling to a 12-3 deficit in the first set. They clawed their way back to within two points, but ultimately could not overcome their early attacking struggles and dropped the first set 25-21.
The second set proved much more favorable for the navy and gold. They came out red hot to begin set number two, jumping to an early 5-0 lead off the strength of four kills from Kianna Childers (Sr., Copperas Cove, Texas, Psychology), who would finish with six kills in the set alone. Alicia Jaquez(Sr., Farmington, N.M., Biology) and Asarar Gony (Sr., Omaha, Neb., Political Science) added three kills of their own to help the Statesmen even the match up at 1-1.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair that found the score being tied at eight different times. Corrin Lepper (Jr., Jefferson City, Mo., Exercise Science) had seven kills in the set that aided the Statesmen to a 25-21 victory and put them ahead 2-1. Childers and Jaquez also had strong third sets to support Lepper’s efforts.
The fourth set was also closely-contested by the opposing Wildcats. After falling to an early 6-2 deficit, the Statesmen came back to tie things at nine after kills from Childers and Peyton Foster (Jr., Graham, Wash., Business Management). Childers had yet another strong performance in the fourth set, adding five more kills to her total for the night. The navy and gold had a chance to put the match away after taking a 23-21 lead, but Culver-Stockton roared back with four unanswered points to force the match into a fifth and final set.
The Statesmen wasted no time in the finale, taking a commanding 10-1 lead in the first-to-15 final set. Childers added four more kills, while Jaquez added three of her own to help the Statesmen secure a 15-7 victory.
Childers led the charge the whole way for the navy and gold, finishing the match with a career-high 19 kills and setting a new single–match best for the Statesmen this season. Lepper had 15 kills of her own and Jaquez finished with nine.
The Statesmen did not post their most efficient hitting performance of the season, finishing with a clip of .136, but they still managed to outhit the Wildcats, who totaled a hitting percentage of .117.
A common theme for the season, Mikaila Winward (Fr., St. Louis Park, Minn., Psychology) and Annalise Whitcomb (Sr., Humboldt, Kan., General Accounting) split setting duties evenly on Friday. Winward assisted in 23 Statesmen kills and Whitcomb assisted 27.
Cameryn Campbell (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Elementary Education) was once again the anchor in the back row, earning a season-high 30 digs. Rebekah Eaves (Sr., Farmington, N.M., Elementary Education) also set a new season high with 13 digs of her own.
“I am glad we fought until the end; it was a battle,” Coach Cleaver said. “We definitely have to improve our play going into Tuesday. It was good to see us be tested and to see us find a way to win. It may not always be pretty, but they found a way and I am proud of them for that.”
What’s Next: Coach Cleaver’s squad will take a trip to Cedar Rapids on Tuesday to meet the Mount Mercy Mustangs. In two matches against the Mustangs last season, the Statesmen split the season series 1-1.
