No. 15 Statesmen Split Road Trip Ahead of Conference Test
Oskaloosa–The No. 15 William Penn men’s volleyball team split its weekend road trip, defeating Olivet Nazarene 3–1 before falling to No. 2 Saint Xavier in straight sets.
vs. Olivet Nazarene, WPU 3-1
The Statesmen (3-0) battled early with the Tigers (4-7), trading points throughout the opening set. William Penn created several opportunities to pull ahead, but ONU answered each push and used a decisive 4-1 run to erase a 24-23 deficit and claim the set.
Set two followed a similar back-and-forth pattern. With WPU leading 21-19, Olivet Nazarene scored four straight points to take a 23-21 advantage. The Statesmen responded with a clutch 4-0 run to secure the set and even the match.
William Penn carried that momentum into the third, building a 15-11 lead and later extending it to 21-15. The Tigers attempted a late response but could not recover as the Navy and Gold closed out the frame 25-19.
The Statesmen controlled the fourth set, jumping in front 17-10. ONU showed late energy, but the deficit proved too large as WPU sealed the match with a 25-22 win.
Offensively, William Penn held a 62-47 advantage in kills and posted a .262 attack percentage compared to ONU’s .146. Both teams struggled with errors, with the Tigers committing 27 to WPU’s 23.
Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Sr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) delivered a standout performance with 20 kills on a .459 hitting percentage. Emilio Spanner (Jr., Sint Eustatius, Sports Management) added 11 kills, while Britten Beallis (Sr., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) and Ben Brinkman (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) recorded 10 each.
João Gabriel Filippelli (Jr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) led the defense with 18 digs, and Sam Spaude (Grad., Cedarburg, Wis., Master’s of Sports Management) contributed 11. Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) directed the offense with 52 assists.
At the net, Brinkman totaled one solo block and nine block assists, while Beallis added one solo block and eight assists.
vs. No. 2 Saint Xavier, SXU 3-0
William Penn (3-1) faced a major test against second-ranked Saint Xavier. The Statesmen trailed 16-12 in the opening set before a 9-3 Cougar run closed the frame at 25-15.
In set two, WPU grabbed early control with a 6-4 lead, but SXU answered to move ahead. The Statesmen later reclaimed an 11-9 advantage before the teams battled to a 15-15 tie. The set remained tight until a late Cougar kill secured a 25-23 decision.
The finale again saw William Penn holding a narrow 15-13 edge before Saint Xavier surged with a 10-3 run to seize command and complete the sweep.
The Statesmen struggled offensively, hitting just .056 compared to SXU’s .241. Saint Xavier also owned a 35-27 edge in kills, while WPU committed more attack errors (22-15).
Spanner led William Penn with 10 kills, followed by Cemeno-Castillo and Beallis with six apiece. Zell recorded 25 assists, while Filippelli and Cemeno-Castillo each tallied seven digs. Spaude, Spanner, and Zell added five digs each.
“We got to see what the best looks like this weekend,” said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “Hopefully it helps us when we kick off Heart play on Tuesday.”
Next Up: William Penn opens Heart of America Athletic Conference play next Tuesday with a 7 p.m. road matchup against Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids.
