Lady Statesmen Sweep Tigers on Senior Night
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Oskaloosa–The 2012 Senior Class celebrated one last great night of volleyball in Penn Gymnasium Wednesday as William Penn swept Iowa Wesleyan 3-0 in non-conference action.
The Lady Statesmen (25-12) won by scores of 25-13, 25-16, 25-12.
William Penn, who hit .159 and limited the Tigers to -.096, came out a bit flat and trailed 7-4 in the first game. The team found its groove, though, with ten of the next 12 points and never again faced a deficit.
It was fitting that, in their final regular season home match, seniors Lacey Taylor (Cedar, Iowa, Elementary Education) and Katie Rielly (Oskaloosa, Iowa, Digital Communications) were the most productive offensive players for the navy and gold. Taylor finished with team bests in kills (10), aces (6), and digs (12), while Rielly added eight winners and two aces of her own.
Kylie Giger (Fr., Elkhart, Ind., Undecided) matched Rielly with eight kills and the setting duo of Leyra Jusino (Fr., Bayamon, P.R., Biology) and Emily McHugh (Fr., Plainfield, Ill., History/Government) combined for 28 assists (15 for McHugh). McHugh contributed three aces as well.
Jeanette Cunningham (Jr., Mt. Orab, Ohio, Elementary Education) led the defensive effort with one solo block and three block assists.
“We accomplished several goals tonight,” Head Coach Jeremy Wise said. “By out-serving them and sending our seniors out with a win, we accomplished our two biggest goals. I am pleased at how well we defended our home court this year, only dropping a five-setter to nationally-ranked Grand View. We could have used a little more focus on offense, but our defense was great in holding Iowa Wesleyan to negative numbers in all three sets. This was a nice way to close out our regular season at home.”
Next: William Penn travels to Rock Island, Ill. this weekend to compete in the Augustana Trick or Treat Tournament. On Friday, the Lady Statesmen face Wartburg at 6 p.m. and Principia (Ill.) at 8 p.m. On Saturday, William Penn takes on Iowa Wesleyan at 10 a.m. and Simpson at 2 p.m.
