William Penn Athletics News October 31

William Penn University Athletics

William Penn University Athletics

Statesmen Nearly Upset Graceland on Senior Night

Oskaloosa–The William Penn volleyball team was on the verge of sending its 2014 senior class out with a huge home finale win, but could not close it out in a 3-2 loss to Graceland in non-conference play Friday.

The Statesmen (2-27), who lost by scores of 25-18, 25-23, 19-25, 11-25, 14-16, were outhit .293-.175.

In one of its best offensive showings of the season, WPU went wire-to-wire to claim the opening set with a .211 hitting mark. The second set was a much tighter event with the Statesmen allowing the first point, but then responding to lead for much of the way. The Yellowjackets (23-7), a future Heart of America Athletic Conference foe, battled back to lead 22-20, but WPU finished strong with five of the final six points for the commanding 2-0 lead.

Unfortunately, the visitors finally caught fire to stay alive and eventually knot the match at 2-2.

Both sides hit well in the decisive fifth set as William Penn pulled out to a 5-1 advantage. The hosts remained on top going into double digits and had a pair of match points at 14-12 and 14-13, but GU finished off its come-from-behind victory with the final four tallies.

Seniors Kayce Skocko (Watsonville, Calif., Business Management) and Ana Gutch (Eddyville, Iowa, Secondary Education) were each productive in their final collegiate home match. Skocko finished with seven kills, while Gutch had five winners, two aces, and one block assist.

Kylie Giger (Jr., Elkhart, Ind., Exercise Science) guided the Statesmen with a double-double of 15 kills and 14 digs. She also matched Gutch with two aces. Erika Getz (Jr., Parsons, Kan., Physical Education) added seven kills and a team-high six blocks (two solos, four assists) as well, while Leyra Jusino (Jr., Bayamon, P.R., General Biology) managed 36 assists.

Danielle Breeher (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Undecided) dug 11 Graceland attacks and Shawni Wills (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) produced four assisted blocks in the setback.

Next Up: William Penn concludes Midwest Collegiate Conference play next Wednesday by traveling to Dubuque to face Clarke at 7:30 p.m.

WPU Loses 78-62 to #2 Morningside

Sioux City–A much improved shooting performance was voided by some sloppy ball control as the William Penn women’s basketball team fell short of upsetting #2 Morningside in a 78-62 non-conference loss Friday.

WPU (1-1) actually outshot the Mustangs 39.3%-37.8%, but could not overcome 29 turnovers.

The visitors started strong with an 8-3 lead, only to have Morningside (2-0) get the edge and go up by as much as 12 points before the navy and gold closed to 35-33 at halftime.

Another strong start came from William Penn in the second stanza as it recaptured the edge and was still up 39-38 with 16:54 to go.

Unfortunately, #2 proved its high ranking is no mistake by scoring 18 unanswered at one point to cruise to the win. MC’s defense ramped up by forcing 20 second-half Statesmen mistakes, good for 20 points; they finished with a 31-13 edge in points off turnovers.

“We played really good for the first 26 minutes, but then lost our focus and they made us pay,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “It was just a two-minute span of bad play that you cannot give a team like Morningside. Early on, our guards handled their press well, but in the latter stages we got a bit too careless.”

“However, I was pleased with our fight,” Brown added. “We were extremely competitive and Jessie was huge; she basically shut down their big-time post. Vanessa also had another great night.”

Neither program had much success behind the arc (WPU shot 18.2%), while the visitors also had issues at the charity stripe (52.3%). Headlined by a career-high 20 rebounds by Jessie Kreuser (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn., Undecided), William Penn was better on the glass, 49-47. The senior also scored 13 points and blocked three shots.

Janay Pritchett (Sr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Biology) was the squad leader in points with 14, while Vanessa Kieres (Chicago, Ill. Physical Education) reached double figures as well with 13 points.

Alyssa Phillips (So., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) and Kau’ilani Miki-Han (Fr., Irvine, Calif., Digital Communication) both contributed eight points. Miki-Han did all of her damage in three impressive first-half minutes.

Katie Golomski (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Psychology) dished out three assists.

“We are still dealing with inexperience and when we get everyone on the same page, we will be a more complete unit,” Brown said. “It will not get any easier tomorrow against another tough foe in Briar Cliff.”

Next Up: William Penn remains in Sioux City Saturday to face another GPAC in Briar Cliff at 2 p.m.

Top-20 Men’s Battle Goes to Morningside 112-100

Sioux City–If Friday night’s season-opening matchup against #12 Morningside was any indication of the season ahead, it will be another wild one as the WPU men’s basketball team fell 112-100 in non-conference action.

The 18th-ranked Statesmen (0-1) struggled on the defensive end, but their offense was clicking on nearly every cylinder with Alec Schwab (Sr., Peru, Ill., Business Management) starting right where he left off last year with 36 points.

WPU was rusty in the opening minutes, committing four turnovers to fall behind 14-3 just 2:07 into the evening. The team regrouped and eventually knotted the contest at 23-23 with 8:46 still left in the first stanza. The advantage see-sawed in the final minutes until the Mustangs (2-0) went on a mini-run to go up 55-46 at half.

Morningside expanded its lead to as much as 20 midway through the second period, but the visitors showed plenty of heart in closing to within five at the 4:31 juncture. They would come no closer, however, as MC connected on its last 12 free throws (34-for-38 overall) to seal the deal.

“We could not stop them,” Head Coach John Henry said. “They scored at will all night and we suffered through a lot of first-game nerves.”

One could say the game was won at the stripe as WPU was only 24-for-36. Schwab was strong, though, finishing 13-for-14 in free tries and also hit five three-pointers. The senior tallied a double-double with an additional 11 rebounds in his stat line.

Kelly Madison (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa, Physical Education) poured in 21 points off the bench, while Oliver Wells (Sr., Dallas, Texas) had an impressive Statesmen debut with 21 points, five assists, and two steals.

2013-2014 redshirt Shane Bosek (Jr., Lowry, Minn., Physical Education) also showed well in his first navy and gold contest with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. The foursome recorded all but five of their team’s points.

William Penn was better on the glass (49-47), leading to a 23-15 margin in second-chance points. Unfortunately, half of that margin was given back in points off turnovers (14-10 MC) as WPU committed 12 mistakes.

Next Up: William Penn remains in Sioux City Saturday to face another GPAC in Briar Cliff at 4 p.m.

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