Statesmen Open Final Weekend of Season with Loss to Bobcats
Peru, Neb.–The William Penn women’s volleyball team claimed a set and nearly had another, but ultimately could not take down Peru State in a 3-1 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss Friday.
WPU (12-19, 3-14 Heart) fell by scores of 20-25, 31-33, 25-22, 15-25. Overall, the visitors were outhit .127-.098 and lost the aces battle 12-4. They did, however, manage to post a 7-6 edge in blocks.
The navy and gold won the first play of the evening, and stayed close with three consecutive points to draw even at 13-13. Unfortunately, PSC (19-10, 11-7 Heart) scored four of the next five points to pull away for the 1-0 edge.
An epic second set witnessed the Statesmen holding three set points, but allowing their hosts to climb all the way back. WPU was then on the verge four more times, but failed on each occasion as it fell into a 2-0 hole.
William Penn came out on fire in the third, blowing out to a 6-0 advantage. The lead grew to eight at 15-7 before PSC slowly chipped away. The Statesmen fortunately had just enough in the tank to force a fourth round.
WPU unfortunately could not keep its momentum, however, as the Bobcats rolled in the fourth to finish the match.
Abigail Mitchell (Sr., Oxford, Ala., Nursing) headlined her squad’s attack with 16 kills on a .261 hitting clip. Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (Sr., Surprise, Ariz., Biology) also reached double figures with 11 winners, while the duo of Hailee Pesek (Sr., New Hampton, Iowa, Nursing) and Alix Robinson (So., Pontiac, Ill., Political Science and History) added nine kills each.
Courtney McWilliams (So., Rockton, Ill., Nursing), with 22 assists, and Leah Meyer (Fr., Houston, Texas, Business Management), with 21, were complementary at the setter position.
Both players had double-doubles as McWilliams managed a team-best 17 digs, while Meyer tallied 11. Bojorquez-McFadden also joined them in the double-double club with 12 digs.
“This was a much better team performance than our first match against Peru State,” Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said. “We showed great hustle and grit, and definitely left it out on the floor tonight.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Lamoni Saturday to face Heart foe Graceland in its final match of the year at 6 p.m.
