Statesmen Outlast Braves in Five-Set Thriller
Oskaloosa–The No. 9 William Penn men’s volleyball team battled through a back-and-forth contest to secure a 3-2 victory over Ottawa in Heart action Tuesday.
William Penn (17-5, 13-4 Heart) defeated Ottawa (17-9, 10-7 Heart) with set scores of 25-20, 25-15, 23-25, 24-26, and 17-15. Both squads endured inconsistent attacking stretches, with the Statesmen posting hitting percentages of .270, .120, .244, .152, and .129. The Braves recorded marks of .143, -.300, .263, .245, and .074.
The opening set featured early momentum swings, as Ottawa claimed a narrow 6-5 lead before the Navy and Gold evened the score at 11-11. A decisive 6-1 run pushed William Penn ahead 17-13, and the Statesmen maintained control late, closing the set on a 4-1 stretch for a 25-20 win.
Ottawa jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the second set, but William Penn quickly responded. After chipping away at the deficit, the Statesmen erupted on a dominant 19-5 run—capitalizing on nine Ottawa attack errors—to take the set convincingly.
The Statesmen carried that energy into the third set, building a 7-4 advantage before the teams settled into a rhythm of trading points. Ottawa eventually tied the frame at 15-15, and the squads exchanged scoring runs down the stretch. Trailing 20-19, the Braves surged with a 5-0 run to reach set point. William Penn answered with three straight points, but Ottawa held on for the 25-23 win.
Set four mirrored the intensity, featuring 10 ties throughout. Ottawa held a slight 9-8 edge early before the Statesmen used a 4-0 run to take control. Neither side created separation late, and after William Penn led 24-23, the Braves scored three consecutive points to force a deciding fifth set.
Ottawa appeared in control early in the final set, building a 13-7 lead. The Statesmen refused to back down, rallying with a 5-0 run fueled by four clutch kills from Marton Sebestyen (Fr., Gyenesdias, Hungary, Business Management). After Ottawa regained match point, Sebestyen delivered another kill to keep William Penn alive. The Statesmen then strung together three unanswered points to take a 15-14 lead. Ottawa evened the score at 15-15, but William Penn closed the match with two decisive points to complete the comeback.
William Penn held the statistical edge, leading 63-56 in kills and hitting .189 compared to Ottawa’s .112. The Statesmen committed 29 attack errors, while the Braves finished with 36.
Both teams struggled from the service line. William Penn recorded three aces alongside 10 errors, while Ottawa totaled five aces and 12 errors.
Sebestyen led all players with 17 kills, while Tommy Fellows (So., Shorewood, Ill., Exercise Science) added 14. Ben Brinkman (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) was highly efficient with 13 kills on a .571 hitting percentage, and Emilio Spanner (Sr., Sint Eustatius, Sports Management) and Britten Beallis (Sr., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) contributed nine kills each.
Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) directed the offense with 52 assists. Defensively, Spanner paced the effort with 15 digs, followed by Taylor Brummond (Jr., Winsted, Minn., Sports Management) with 14. Zell and Sam Spaude (Grad., Cedarburg, Wis., Master’s of Sports Management) added 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
At the net, Ottawa held a narrow 12-10 advantage in total blocks. Beallis led William Penn with four block assists and two solo blocks, while Brinkman added five block assists and one solo block. Fellows chipped in four block assists.
Next Up: The Statesmen travel to face No. 2 Park Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Heart action in Parkville, Mo.
