Statesmen Collect First Win of Season at Columbia Tournament
The William Penn women’s volleyball knocked off a top-25 foe as it broke into the win column at the highly-competitive Columbia Hampton Inn Classic Friday and Saturday.
Columbia, Mo.–The William Penn women’s volleyball knocked off a top-25 foe as it broke into the win column at the highly-competitive Columbia Hampton Inn Classic Friday and Saturday.
WPU (1-4) opened the weekend with a 3-1 loss to John Brown on Friday (14-25, 21-25, 25-18, 27-29) before also dropping a 3-0 decision (20-25, 14-25, 15-25) to #22 Ottawa (Kan.) later in the day.
The navy and gold then opened Saturday with a statement victory, taking down #13 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 3-1 (25-15, 25-20, 16-25, 25-19), but concluded the tournament with a 3-1 setback to Xavier (La.) (25-19, 24-26, 22-25, 18-25).
While Ottawa and Dakota Wesleyan are ranked, John Brown and Xavier are also stout foes who enter the season receiving votes nationally.
John Brown 3, WPU 1
The Statesmen started slow, losing the first two sets before finally coming alive with a match-high .273 hitting percentage in the third round. WPU nearly pushed the bout to five, but failed to score on three set points.
While her team was outhit .255-.199, Alyvia Johnson (Jr., Owatonna, Minn., Elementary Education), who was unavailable in Tuesday’s season opener, was impressive in her debut with 16 kills on a .300 mark. She added 15 digs for a double-double.
Andressa Borges (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management) also hit double digits with 11 kills, while Alyssa Young (Sr., Winter Springs, Fla., Exercise Science) fell just shy with nine winners. Riley Hungate (So., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) was good for an additional five.
Chyanne Bradford (So., Rowlett, Texas, Education), with 19 assists, and Mia Brady (So., Pontiac, Ill., Exercise Science), with 18, were both effective as William Penn’s setters; Brady produced a squad-best three aces as well.
Kaya Caprini (So., Minneapolis, Minn., Undecided) notched 13 digs, while Borges’ two block assists paced the net defenders.
Ottawa 3, WPU 0
All of WPU’s momentum from its strong late-set play against JBU was extinguished against the Braves as the crew lost the hitting battle .326-108.
Johnson, with eight kills, and Young, with five, were the top offensive stars. Brady was statistically better at setter with 12 helpers; Bradford managed 11 assists. Caprini’s 10 digs headlined the defensive effort.
WPU 3, Dakota Wesleyan 1
In a matchup that saw the Statesmen hold a .257-.201 edge in attacking over the Tigers, the victors were over .200 in all four sets, including a .303 mark in the opener.
Although it did not earn a sweep, William Penn did break into the 2023 win column in a big way, paced by monster showings from Borges and Young. Borges went off to the tune of 17 kills (.452), while Young had 12 winners (.360 attack). Katlyn Jeter (Jr., Solon, Iowa, Business Management) also got into the mix with nine, while Johnson had five.
Jeter and Jade Melton (Sr., Hallsville, Mo., Psychology) both served up a trio of aces, while Jeter just missed a double-double with 10 digs. Johnson was WPU’s top digger with 18. The Statesmen managed 12 blocks as well with four different players having a part in four blocks each.
Bradford’s 25 assists were the best for the team, while Cate Hahn (Jr., St. Charles, Mo., Biology) helped on 17 winning points.
Xavier 3, WPU 1
The Statesmen were narrowly outhit .176-.162 against the Gold Nuggets with nine different players tallying a kill. WPU was hot out of the gate, winning the first set with a .400 hitting mark, but dipped every set after that.
Down 24-19 in the second set, the squad scored five in a row and nearly put XULA in a 2-0 hole. Unfortunately, the Gold Nuggets took the round and continued to roll in the four-setter.
William Penn was impressive at the service line, tallying 12 aces, including six by Melton and four from Bradford.
Young led the offense with nine kills on a .444 clip, while Johnson was next with seven winners and Jeter added six more. Bradford assists 18 times, while Caprini came up with 12 digs; Johnson managed 11 digs as well.
The trio of Young, Borges, and Keegan Buller (So., Rowlett, Texas, Psychology) all finished with four blocks each in the loss.
“We faced a lot of tough competition this weekend, but we were finally able to have the full team available and to see some really great things at moments,” Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said. “We now know we are able to compete against high-level talent and take sets from them. We have learned some things in the beginning parts of the season that will help us moving forward into two more tournaments as well as the start of conference play.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Friday and Saturday to host the William Penn Labor Day Tournament. On Friday, WPU hosts St. Ambrose at 3 p.m. and Mount Marty at 7 p.m., while on Saturday, the Statesmen take on Tabor at 11 a.m. and Waldorf at 3 p.m.
