Statesmen Receiving Votes for First Time

Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s volleyball team is producing strong performances each time out and has piqued the interest of the national raters as the fourth NAIA top-15 ranking was announced Wednesday.

WPU (10-9, 5-8 Heart) is receiving votes for the first time in its short two-year history, sitting at #16 unofficially with seven points. The Statesmen entered this week on a four-match winning streak, their longest in school history.

The navy and gold are one of six representatives from the talent-laden Heart of America Athletic Conference in the rating. Grand View is #1, while Missouri Valley is tied for #3, Missouri Baptist is #6, #Park is #8, and Mount Mercy is #13.

Of William Penn’s nine setbacks, seven have come against squads from the aforementioned league quintet (WPU has yet to play MVC). The Statesmen have given those teams fits in their losses, though, including winning at least one set against MBU, PU (2 sets), and MMU (two sets). Another defeat was at the hands of now #5 Jamestown, 3-1.

Last Friday, the Statesmen also took down Siena Heights, another program receiving votes.

In addition to GVU being a unanimous #1 (233 points, 13 first-place votes) and Missouri Valley and Jamestown being in the top five, Benedictine (Ariz.) is #2 and Campbellsville is #3.

William Penn travels to Canton, Mo. Thursday to meet Culver-Stockton in Heart action at 7 p.m.