Missouri Valley Down WPU 3-1
Oskaloosa–William Penn men’s volleyball faced a tough matchup against #3 Missouri Valley Monday night. The Statesmen rebounded after a tough opening set to surge to a second frame victory, but the Vikings clinched the final two to take the match three sets to one. WPU won set two 25-17 but dropped the others 25-16, 25-15, and 25-20. The team is now 10-15 overall and 5-11 in Heart of America Athletic Conference competition.
MVC took an early lead but Ike Papes (So., Elwood, Ill, Business Management) got a set from Connor Muff (Jr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) and put it to the floor to tie the game at 1-1. With the game soon tied at 2-2, the Vikings put away a couple balls and went ahead by three before a service error made it 6-4. But Missouri Valley reset and ramped up their attack, grabbing a 14-7 advantage.
CJ Rettig (So., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education) got the next kill for the navy and gold but the team struggled to string points together, as the Vikings continued to stretch their lead. Down 20-10, William Penn got a kill from Charlie Figy (Fr., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) and Rettig followed suite. With Figy nailing one more kill, the team trailed 20-13 but the Vikings were able to close out the set 25-16. WPU hit .147 in the first, with 11 kills and six errors.
The second set started even but after a tie at 3-3, the Statesmen started to assert themselves. With a couple kills from Rettig and a big one from Anthony Torres (Fr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science), the squad pulled ahead 8-4 to force the visitors to take a timeout. An ace from Torres then made it 9-4 even though the Vikings to the ball back right after. From 10-5, the team surged ahead to take a 13-8 edge. The Vikings then whittled down the lead to 13-10 but WPU responded with kills from Eli Herro (So., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) and Rettig to keep a three-point gap.
With the Statesmen up 17-14, the team kept the advantage and pulled away over the final few rallies, outscoring MVC 8-3 to claim a victory in the second period 25-17. The team hit .296 with 14 kills and six errors on 27 attempts in the frame.
The third period belonged to the Vikings early, as they drove out to a 7-2 lead. The navy and gold then flipped the script, as they clawed back eight of the next 11 points to come within two at 10-8. Papes slammed a ball down to come within one at 11-10, but Missouri Valley then rebounded nicely. Blazing away on a 9-3 hot streak, the visitors put away the third 25-15, as they forced the Statesmen to hit in the negatives.
Needing a monumental effort in the fourth, WPU leveled the score at 2-2. The Vikings took a two-point lead but William Penn clung with them as the game moved toward the middle rallies. Down 13-11, an ace from Herro made it 13-12 but the Vikings once more inched away. Soon down 17-13, WPU called a timeout to try to make a final push. Despite taking the next point, the #3 team in the nation kept their cool and put the match to rest by taking set four 25-20.
The Statesmen hit .093 in the match, with 39 kills and 27 errors on 129 total attempts. The squad made three solo blocks, 39 digs, and dropped in two aces. Figy and Papes each had nine kills to top the lineup, while Rettig and Herro each had eight. Muff posted 36 assists in the contest and Carlos Garcia (So., Laredo, Texas, Biology) led the team with 10 digs. Torres made eight digs and Muff came up with seven.
Next Up: The Statesmen must win the next two games to make the Heart post season tournament, starting with Mount Mercy tomorrow night. The match will take place in Cedar Rapids at 7 p.m.
