Statesmen Drop Homecoming Tilt
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s volleyball team kicked off the homecoming action with a matchup against the MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers, but unfortunately did not come away with the victory.
The Pioneers won three tightly contested sets of 24-26, 28-30, 19-25. The Statesmen fall to 8-6 overall and 1-4 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
The first set of play opened off well, as the Statesmen took a 10-6 lead, aided by two kills from Alyssa Young (Jr., Winter Springs, Fla., Biology). The Pioneers battled back quickly, tying the game at 12. The two teams did not trade points, but traded runs, switching off four point runs after playing to a 19-19 tie. William Penn made it to set point after a kill from Alyvia Johnson (Fr., Owatonna, Minn., Elementary Education), but the Pioneers rallied for three points in a row to take the first set 24-26.
Looking to even the match, the navy and gold jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but then ceded the next five points to the visitors. After battling back to a 13-13 tie, the tug-of-war began again. There were six more ties on the way to the Statesmen taking a 24-21 lead, but then MNU rallied again. They took five points in a row to make it to set point at 25-24, but the set was far from over. Two kills from Johnson kept the set going, but the Pioneers finally prevailed with a 30-28 win.
The third set did not start off closely contested like the first two, as the Pioneers quickly jumped out to a 10-3 lead. The Statesmen attempted to rally, but the visitors went on another run to take a 17-8 lead. Entering chip away mode, William Penn was only able to bring it as close as 24-19 as the Pioneers closed out the match with a 25-19 win.
Johnson led the team with 10 kills, while Corrin Lepper (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Exercise Science) had the most efficient hitting day on either team. Lepper had nine kills while hitting at a .412 clip.
Annalise Whitcomb (Sr., Humboldt, Kan., General Accounting) operated as the de facto primary setter, totaling 17 assists. Macy Bailey (Jr., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management) followed close behind with 15.
Leading the back row was Cameryn Campbell (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Elementary Education), who finished with 16 digs. Johnson and Rebekah Eaves (Sr., Farmington, N.M., Elementary Education)+ tied for second on the team with nine each.
“We put ourselves in positions to win sets today but didn’t finish it,” said Head Coach Aleesha Cleaver. “We must continue to learn from these matches as we progress through conference. Every night is going to be a battle.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen are back at home on Tuesday for a matchup with the Clarke Pride. First serve is scheduled for 7 PM.
