Statesmen Snag Second Five-Set Victory in a Row
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s volleyball team came out on top in another thrilling five-set match, defeating Baker 3-2 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Friday.
WPU (9-9, 3-2 Heart) won by scores 25-15, 26-28, 25-13, 21-25, 19-17 to earn its second five-set victory this week, having also dropped Graceland 3-2 on Tuesday.
The hosts, who outhit the Wildcats .210-.139, appeared ready for a quick night, hitting .406 as they rolled to the win in the opening set.
The Statesmen went up 2-1 early in the second set, but BU (6-7, 1-2 Heart) found its footing and kept the navy and gold in the rearview for the remainder of the round to tie the match at 1-1. William Penn drew even a few times late in the set, but could not get over the hump.
Similar to the first, WPU went wire-to-wire in the third set to claim a 2-1 edge overall. The Statesmen were looking for the knockout punch with an 11-9 edge in the fourth, but failed to put the Wildcats away and a fifth set ensued in Penn Activity Center for the second time in four days.
The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair that featured 10 ties and eight lead changes. William Penn went out ahead 4-2, but could not hold off Baker over the next several points, including trailing 8-5 as the teams switched sides.
Behind a set-high four points at 10-6, the Statesmen called a timeout to regroup and it was effective as they tallied five unanswered points to get back in it. The teams were neck-and-neck down the stretch, but the hosts finally found back-to-back points for the victory.
Alyvia Johnson (Jr., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) seemingly had a hand in everything as she posted a rare 20-20 double-double with a career high 24 kills (.345 attack clip) and 20 digs.
Riley Hungate (So., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) was next with a double-double of her own, tallying 12 kills with 18 digs, while Alyssa Young (Sr., Winter Springs, Fla., Exercise Science) also eclipsed double digits with 12 winners.
Jade Melton (Sr., Hallsville, Mo., Psychology) added seven kills and Patricia De Souza (Jr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Physical Education) contributed six more.
Chyanne Bradford (So., Rowlett, Texas, Secondary Education) headed the setters with 34 assists in addition to nine digs, while Mia Brady (So., Pontiac, Ill., Exercise Science) was the third WPU player with a double-double as she finished with 25 assists and 15 digs. Brady also served up a squad-best three aces; WPU bettered BU at the service line (8-2).
Kaya Caprini (So., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology) was the defensive leader with 29 digs, while De Souza (one solo, four assists) and Young (four assists) were tops at the defensive net. Overall, the victors tallied 10 blocks, compared to seven for the Wildcats.
“Our ladies showed great fight and finish tonight to win their second five-setter of the week,” Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said. “Our outside hitters had a great night and the whole team showed up when we needed them. This gives us great momentum going into Saturday’s match.”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart play at 2 p.m.
