Statesmen Open Season on High Note
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s volleyball team opened up their 2022 season at home on Wednesday against the Clarke Pride. The Statesmen opened on a high note, sweeping Clarke by scores of 25-22, 25-10, 25-19.
The third season of men’s volleyball at William Penn opened up with a bang, as Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Business Management) got the scoring started with his first kill. Papes was heavily involved throughout the first set, as were both middles. Charlie Figy (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) and Eli Herro (Jr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) had two kills apiece, but the navy and gold struggled to separate from the Pride. Although they rarely trailed, their largest lead of the set was just three points and the visitors continued to stay in the game. A couple of small, late runs from the Statesmen were just enough to give them the edge, and they held the lead through the first set to take the first lead of the match. Papes had five kills in the opening frame.
The second set immediately favored William Penn, and the momentum never came close to swinging back in Clarke’s favor. Figy opened the set with a kill and a block, then Connor Muff (Sr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) delivered back to back aces. After conceding two points, four more points forced an early timeout from the visitors. It did little to quell the surging Statesmen, who rattled off five more points in a row, including two aces by Carlos Garcia (Jr., Laredo, Texas, Biology). After getting the serve back, Landon Krause (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) got in on the service fun as well, chalking up his first two service aces at WPU. Krause wasn’t done yet, and delivered the final blow as the Statesmen took the second set in convincing fashion.
It was more of the same to begin the final set as Papes and Figy delivered three finishers between them. The visitors rebounded well this time, but the navy and gold still created enough separation early on and fended them off the rest of the way. A 10-5 lead quickly became 17-8, and although Clarke was able to slow down the run and began trading points, it was too little, too late as William Penn closed out their season opener with a sweep.
Papes had a remarkable start to the year, finishing with 14 kills and a robust .611 hitting percentage. Figy was also very efficient as an attacker, tallying nine kills at a .467 clip, while Herro and Krause added six and five finishers, respectively.
Muff took most of the setting duties, assisting in 25 of the team’s 39 kills. Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) worked in as well, complementing Muff with seven assists. Garcia led the defensive efforts with six digs, while Figy and Herro each had two rejections at the net.
“Great win to open up the year,” said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “The best part was we had a full team effort. We’ve talked since day 1 about the strength of this group and I think you saw that tonight.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen will travel to Quincy, Ill. for two games this weekend. The first of the two is on Friday against the Quincy University Hawks. First serve is scheduled for 7 PM.
