Statesmen Fall to Mustangs in Straight Sets

Cedar Rapids—After playing three non-conference games over the weekend, The Statesmen returned to Heart of America Athletic Conference play with a matchup against Mount Mercy.

William Penn (2-6, 0-4 Heart) fell in straight sets to Mount Mercy (5-4, 3-2 Heart) by the scores of 25-19, 25-22, and 29-27.

After stumbling in set one, WPU looked like they were on the right path as they led 13-11 in the second set before fumbling away the lead and eventually giving up the final four of five points, putting the home squad up 2-0 in the match. The navy and gold were not going to go down easy but unfortunately dropped the third set 29-27. The Statesmen had an opportunity to take the set as they had set point at 25-24 but were unable to finish.

William Penn was outhit in the match .260-.108.

Ike Papes (Fr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management) posted 11 kills to lead the Statesmen in that department while CJ Rettig (Fr., Sierra Madre, Calif., Wellness and Recreation) had seven. Eli Herro (Fr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) had the most efficient outing on the offensive side of the ball producing five kills at a .455 clip.

The two-setter combo of Matt Helmick (Fr., Fullerton, Ca., Business Management) and Connor Muff (So., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) once again ran the offense where Helmick led with 17 assists and Muff had 12.

All eight Statesmen who played in the match registered at least two digs, led by Pedro Maciel (Fr., Belo Horizante, Brazil, Psychology) with 12.

Next Up: The Statesmen will travel to Jamestown, N.D. to take on University of Jamestown on Friday.