Four-Setter Moves Streak to Nine
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Oskaloosa–Sometimes it does not have to be pretty to get the job done. The Lady Statesmen volleyball team learned that lesson Monday night with a 3-1 non-conference win over Simpson.
William Penn (19-6), who has now won nine in a row, closed out its three-game homestand by defeating the Storm (5-13) by scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 25-18. The home team, who is undefeated in Penn Gymnasium (4-0) this fall, narrowly outhit the visitors .119-.118.
The first set went in favor of the navy and gold, highlighted by a match-high .195 hitting clip. The second time around was not as favorable with William Penn attacking at an evening-worst .065.
The Lady Statesmen continued to struggle early in the third set, trailing by as much as seven points three times. Down 12-5, they finally found their legs in tallying 11 of the next 14 points to go up 16-15. The squads split the ensuing eight points, but William Penn closed it out strong to take a 2-1 advantage.
Having regained the momentum, the home team did not appear willing to give it back, blowing out to a 16-4 lead in set #4. Unfortunately, Simpson was not ready to go home and pulled to within three at 18-15. The Lady Statesmen eventually settled down and won seven of the final ten points for the victory.
Three players reached double figures in kills, led by 12 from Kylie Giger (Fr., Elkhart, Ind., Undecided). Lacey Taylor (Sr., Cedar, Iowa, Elementary Education) added 11 winners and Katie Rielly (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Digital Communications) recorded ten kills. Jeanette Cunningham (Jr., Mt. Orab, Ohio, Elementary Education) just fell shy of the mark with nine kills.
Dayna Sammons (So., Menomonee Falls, Wis., Software Engineering) had 36 assists in the win, while Rielly served three aces. Taylor finished with a squad-high 15 digs, and Giger was a part of three blocks (one solo, two assists).
“First off, we are pleased to keep things rolling in the right direction and to keep our undefeated home record intact,” Head Coach Jeremy Wise said. “We struggled with our serve reception which affected our level of play at times. Fortunately, we were able to make a few changes that helped get us over the hump in the third game and get our rhythm back.”
“I was glad to see us step up and close the match out in fourth set,” Wise added. “Now that we have shucked off some rust from our first weekend off, we can go into Viterbo Wednesday night with a full head of steam for a great conference battle.”
Next: William Penn travels to La Crosse, Wis. Wednesday to face Viterbo in Midwest Collegiate Conference action at 7:30 p.m.
