William Penn 0-2 at Molten Invitational
Des Moines–The Statesmen men’s volleyball team was upended by a pair of formidable opponents as it was swept twice at the Molten Invitational hosted by Grand View Friday and Saturday.
#5 WPU (1-2) opened the weekend with a 3-0 loss to (RV) Lourdes (Ohio) (22-25, 23-25, 24-26) and then closed it out with another 3-0 setback to #11 The Master’s (Calif.) (20-25, 17-25, 19-25).
Lourdes 3, WPU 0
William Penn, which was outhit just .296-.261 in the match, went toe-to-toe in every set with the Gray Wolves.
Lourdes scored the first two points of the match and eventually led 13-8 in the opening set, but the Statesmen rallied to draw within one at 15-14. Unfortunately, WPU could not get over the hump to trail 1-0 in the contest.
Gaining some momentum from its push in the opening set, the navy and gold roared out to an 8-3 edge in the second. They stayed in front for most of the set, and despite holding a .258-.179 advantage in the round, could not put the Gray Wolves away for a 2-0 deficit.
Landon Krause (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) was injured in the second set and did not play the remainder of the weekend, but the Statesmen still found a groove in the third. A 9-4 lead grew to as many as eight at 19-11 before Lourdes responded. William Penn had a chance to stay alive with set point at 24-23, but failed to close it out as the Gray Wolves unfortunately scored three consecutive points to wrap up the sweep.
Less than 24 hours after struggling at the service line, the Statesmen improved a bit with six aces versus 15 errors; Lourdes managed three aces against 10 errors. Ike Papes (Sr., Elwood, Ill., Business Management) had half of those six services winners. WPU posted a 6-3 edge in blocks as well in the setback.
Papes led the navy and gold with nine kills, while Eli Herro (Sr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) managed eight winners. Devyn Zavala (Jr., Long Beach, Calif.) contributed six, while Krause tacked on five more (.357 attack clip), despite only playing in two sets.
Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) assisted 29 times, while Carlos Garcia (Jr., Laredo, Texas, Biology) posted seven digs. Charlie Figy (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) was the squad’s top net defender with one solo block and two block assists.
The Master’s 3, WPU 0
WPU, playing without Krause, scored the first two points of the match, but then permitted four unanswered by the Mustangs. TMU never relinquished the lead again in taking the opening set.
The second round was a duplication of the first with the navy and gold tallying the first two points, only to have The Master’s respond and stay in control for a commanding 2-0 edge in the match.
The Statesmen fell into a 6-1 hole in the third and final set, but rallied to get within two points. Unfortunately, the Mustangs had too much in the tank and finished off the sweep.
WPU was outhit .459-.131 and lost the blocks battle 5-2. Figy, who hit a team-best .500 on the day, and Papes each managed seven kills, while Herro added six on a .364 clip. Helmick recorded 18 assists, while Garcia finished with six digs to guide the defense.
“These were a couple of tough tests for us,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “Our guys continue to fight because we all know this year is going to be a grind. I am excited to see how we continue to respond.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Parkville, Mo. to face #8 Park in Heart of America Athletic Conference action at 7 p.m.
