Herro Sets New Best in Statesmen Loss to Graceland
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s volleyball team got back in action Tuesday with a home contest against the Yellowjackets of Graceland. Despite a hot start, the Statesmen ran into a determined GU team that would not back down. After taking the opening set, WPU fell in the second, third and fourth, losing 3-1 with scores of 25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 18-25. William Penn falls to 2-2 in both its overall and Heart of America Athletic Conference records.
WPU made only five errors in the first set as it stormed out to a quick lead. Ike Papes (So., Elwood, Ill., Business Management) scored the opening point on a big blast on the near side. Charlie Figy (Fr., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) doubled the edge and an error by GU made it 3-0. The hosts gave up a couple points but claimed a 10-4 lead on kills by CJ Rettig (So., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education) and Eli Herro (So., Dousman, Wis., Business Management).
The middle stages saw Graceland find its footing, but the lead reached 10 points when back-to-back attack errors put the Statesmen up 18-8. The navy and gold took the first frame on an attack error, winning 25-18, but lost momentum down the stretch, being outscored 10-7 to close out the set.
That set the stage for the next three sets, as Graceland showed its was no pushover. Papes and Herro put WPU up 2-0 to start the second, but the Yellowjackets stayed within a point or two, eventually taking a 9-7 lead. WPU trailed the rest of the way, and despite some quality blocks from the front row players and some big kills, the home squad could not close the gap. Trailing 22-20 after a kill by Connor Muff (Jr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management), GU took hold of the set and won 25-22.
The third set was up for grabs the whole way, as the teams were tied on 12 occasions. This time, it was the Yellowjackets who broke through for the first point, but Herro, en route to a career night, notched another kill to make it 1-1. The teams then went back and forth until Herro again put a ball away, giving his team a 10-8 edge. Caleb Seguin (Jr., Pickering, Ontario, Digital Communication), making his home debut, collected two kills in short order, but Graceland hung around. The Statesmen remained a point ahead, but a service error ended up tying the game at 13-all. Once more, the sides could not find separation with Figy getting a kill to even things out at 19-19. Graceland put up two quick points, but after a timeout by WPU, the Statesmen reeled off three in a row to take a 22-21 lead. GU called a timeout, regrouped and would not allow the Statesmen to score again, as the Yellowjackets earned the third set 25-22.
The fourth set saw the navy and gold record the opening point. The score remained close early on with Figy tying the game at 5 on a put-back kill, but GU then went on a 5-2 streak that put them ahead 10-7. The Statesmen eventually leveled the score once more and both teams kept swinging away until it was tied at 12. Graceland then found another gear, going on an 8-1 run that seemed to take away all the wind out of the WPU sails. Despite a couple more kills, Graceland continued to push and closed out the night with a 25-18 win.
Papes led the Statesmen with 17 kills, while Herro set a new career high with 12. Figy was third with 11, but no one else got above four kills. Muff picked up 40 helpers on the night, while the team had 10 digs from Carlos Garcia (So., Laredo, Texas, Biology). Papes added nine digs, while Anthony Torres (Fr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science) and Rettig each had seven. The team once more struggled to keep the ball in play from behind the line, committing 19 service errors overall.
“Tonight wasn’t our night,” said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “Graceland played us very tough and we weren’t up to the task. We have a long week ahead so we’ll get back to work tomorrow and get better.”
Next Up: The Statesmen will play four games in three days, starting on the road in Davenport Thursday to face St. Ambrose at 7 p.m.
