Statesmen Complete Improbable Comeback Over #11 Missouri Baptist
Oskaloosa–The Penn Activity Center was roaring on Friday as the William Penn men’s volleyball team earned a statement win over the #11 Missouri Baptist Spartans.
After falling behind 2-0, the Statesmen rallied to earn the reverse sweep against MBU, their second consecutive win against a ranked opponent. The win pushes their record to 4-1 in the early goings while remaining a perfect 3-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
WPU was geared up for the challenge, jumping on top to the tune of a 5-1 lead in the opening frame. The Spartans quickly regrouped, however, and went on a 5-1 run to even things up at 6-6. A back-and-forth affair followed as the two teams tied 11 more times down the stretch in a closely contested set. Charlie Figy (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) and Connor Muff (Sr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) combined for two blocks to give the hosts the lead on two separate occasions, but they could not seal the deal as the visitors took control and won the opener 25-21.
Much like the first set, the Statesmen opened up on a hot stretch to begin the second set, but once again the Spartans struck back. Unfortunately, in the second set, Missouri Baptist created separation around the midway portion of the set, utilizing a pair of five point runs to put the score out of reach and take a 2-0 set lead after winning 25-17.
Keeping with the trend, the navy and gold led 7-2 early in the third frame, but saw their lead cut to one as Missouri Baptist made it a 10-9 game. However, two aces from Figy were bookended by two kills from Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Business Management) to force a timeout, and the Statesmen were able to keep the Spartans from mounting a comeback.
Late in the set, MBU went on a four point run to take a one point lead, eventually reaching match point at 24-23. Facing defeat, Papes came up with a huge kill to even it up and force extra play. It was a seemingly never-ending set, and on five separate occasions, the Statesmen faced match point from the Spartans. However, Papes came up huge with five finishers down the stretch, and a stuff at the net from Figy and CJ Rettig (Jr., Sierra Madre, Calif., Physical Education) sent the PAC into hysterics as the Statesmen pulled off an improbable win, taking their first set by a score of 35-33.
It was the longest set in program history, and gave the navy and gold new life entering the fourth set. After being held at bay through the first two frames, the attackers gained new life in the third, hitting at a .333 clip and totaling 21 kills, including 11 from Papes.
This time, it was Missouri Baptist capturing the early lead, trying to take the life out of the crowd after they had been so close to victory on so many occasions in the third. They extended their lead to 10-7, but kills from Rettig, Landon Krause (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management), and Eli Herro (Jr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) forced a timeout from the visitors as they tried to once again quell the momentum of William Penn. They were successful momentarily, but the Statesmen battled back from another three point deficit to tie the score at 15 and the back-and-forth commenced once again.
With the score knotted at 23, Anthony Torres (Jr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science) stepped to the line and delivered an ace that just barely cleared the net to give the Statesmen set point, but the next serve missed the mark to send it to extra points again. This time, the Statesmen put the Spartans on the ropes, but the visitors quickly flipped the script to take a 27-26 lead. William Penn called a timeout, which proved fruitful as Papes came down with another thunderous hit to even things at 27. Two points later, Rettig delivered the winner as WPU delivered another long, thrilling victory to even the match at two sets apiece. For the first time all game, the visitors seemed to really struggle with unforced errors, and the Statesmen benefited from 12 unforced mistakes from the Spartans.
The fifth set immediately began with a 1-0 Statesmen lead, as Missouri Baptist had been awarded a red card at the conclusion of the fourth. Muff, as he had in the second, opened the frame with an ace. The Statesmen were playing with a fire underneath them. Papes and Herro combined for another rejection, and a finish from Krause forced the visitors to call a timeout after a 4-0 run to start the final set.
The timeout did little to slow things down, and the navy and gold once again took advantage of three service errors from MBU to take a 10-6 lead. Muff helped edge closer to victory with a savvy dump, his second kill of the game. Two points later, Rettig came up with a pair of huge digs to pave the way for Krause to drive one to the PAC floor, extending the lead to 13-7 and inducing the final timeout from the Spartans.
Once again, the Statesmen were undeterred by the timeout, and Muff immediately delivered another perfectly placed serve for an ace, his fifth of the match. Now at match point, the Statesmen conceded a single point to the Spartans to make the score 14-8. On the next point, Papes was set up one more time from Muff and delivered the finishing blow. His 19th kill of the evening concluded the fifth and final set 15-8, and the team celebrated with the fans after their incredible comeback.
Papes led with 19 kills, also turning in a good defensive game with seven digs and four blocks. Both middles had incredibly efficient games as well, as Figy turned in six kills against only one error on eight swings, adding eight blocks for good measure. Herro hit .533 with 10 kills and three blocks.
Muff, in addition to his five aces, assisted in 49 of the team’s 59 kills in the game, even tallying two of his own. Charlie Bruecker (Fr., Kaukauna, Wis., Business Management)led the team with eight digs in his first career match, also adding three assists.
“What a match!” Said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “So proud of our guys and how they performed. Can’t say much more than that!”
What’s Next: The Statesmen will be right back in the PAC on Saturday for a match against the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. First serve is scheduled for 1 PM.
