Statesmen Rally Past UHSP in Five-Set Senior Day Thriller
Oskaloosa–The No. 10 William Penn men’s volleyball team faced a stiff test from UHSP but battled through five sets to secure a 3-2 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory on Saturday.
William Penn (15-5, 11-4 Heart) earned the win over UHSP (10-13, 6-9 Heart) with set scores of 25-22, 22-25, 17-25, 25-20, and 15-12. The Statesmen recorded set attack percentages of .323, .111, .138, .256, and .320, while the Eutectics posted marks of .267, .150, .333, .079, and .120.
The opening set featured early back-and-forth action before UHSP used a five-point run to take a 12-8 lead. The Statesmen responded by gradually chipping away, using a 3-0 burst followed by an 8-2 surge to flip the score in their favor at 23-19. William Penn closed out the set with composure to take the early advantage.
The second set remained tightly contested, with UHSP holding a narrow 12-11 edge midway through. The teams exchanged leads before the Eutectics found separation late, putting together a decisive 7-2 run to claim the set 25-22 and even the match.
UHSP carried that momentum into the third set, jumping out to an 11-4 lead. Although the Statesmen worked to close the gap and found some rhythm offensively, the early deficit proved too much to overcome as the Eutectics secured a 25-17 win to take a 2-1 match lead.
Facing elimination, William Penn responded in the fourth set with an 11-7 start. Both squads battled through stretches of errors, combining for 10 in the frame, but the Statesmen found their footing with a 6-1 run to build an 18-11 advantage. UHSP answered with a 6-1 push of its own to trim the margin to two, but the Navy and Gold steadied themselves, finishing the set on a 5-2 run to force a decisive fifth set.
In the final frame, William Penn seized control early with a 7-2 lead. UHSP refused to go away, rallying with a 5-2 run to close within 13-11. The Statesmen, however, delivered in the clutch once again, scoring the final two points to seal the 15-12 victory and complete the comeback.
Statistically, William Penn edged UHSP 63-60 in kills while finishing with a .225 hitting percentage compared to the Eutectics’ .184. The Statesmen struggled from the service line with two aces and 12 errors, while UHSP totaled five aces and eight errors.
Emilio Spanner (Sr., Sint Eustatius, Sports Management) led the offense with 23 kills, hitting .375, while Britten Beallis(Sr., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) added 13 kills at an efficient .458 clip. Tommy Fellows (So., Shorewood, Ill., Exercise Science) contributed 11 kills in the effort.
Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) orchestrated the attack with 56 assists. Defensively, Taylor Brummond (Jr., Winsted, Minn., Sports Management) recorded a team-high 17 digs, while Fellows added nine. Zell and Spanner each tallied eight digs, and Sam Spaude (Grad., Cedarburg, Wis., Master’s of Sports Management) contributed seven.
At the net, William Penn held a slight 11-9 advantage in total blocks. Beallis led the effort with seven block assists, while Spanner recorded five. Ben Brinkman (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) and Fellows each added four block assists, and Zell contributed three.
“What a day for our seniors,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “So proud to honor our guys today and cap it off with a win!”
