William Penn Cruises Past Graceland in Heart Sweep
Oskaloosa–The No. 9 William Penn men’s volleyball team secured a straight-set sweep over Graceland in Heart action Friday night.
William Penn (16-5, 12-4 Heart) defeated the Yellowjackets (2-22, 1-13) with set scores of 25-17, 25-19, and 25-16. The Statesmen improved their efficiency as the match progressed, posting attack percentages of .179, .241, and .345, while Graceland recorded marks of .130, .156, and .091.
The opening set featured early momentum swings, as the Navy and Gold jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Graceland responded with a 9-3 run. William Penn quickly regained control, using a 9-4 stretch to even the score before pulling away with an 8-2 run to build a 23-15 advantage. The Yellowjackets attempted a late push but were unable to overcome the deficit.
In the second set, William Penn established an early 6-3 edge, but Graceland trimmed the lead to 9-8. The set remained competitive until the Statesmen created separation with a 5-1 run to take a 14-9 lead. Graceland stayed within striking distance, but another 5-1 surge from the Navy and Gold extended the margin to 22-15. William Penn closed out the set 25-19 to take a 2-0 match lead.
Carrying that momentum into the third set, the Statesmen held a narrow 8-6 advantage before using a 6-2 run to force a Graceland timeout at 14-8. The Yellowjackets slowed the pace out of the break but could not close the gap, as William Penn maintained control and finished the match with three unanswered points for the sweep.
William Penn held the statistical edge, outpacing Graceland 36-28 in kills while hitting .256 compared to the Yellowjackets’ .125. The Statesmen also controlled the service line with six aces and just eight errors, while Graceland recorded one ace and 16 errors.
Marton Sebestyen (Fr., Gyenesdias, Hungary, Business Management) paced the contest with 10 kills, while Tommy Fellows (So., Shorewood, Ill., Exercise Science) and Emilio Spanner (Sr., Sint Eustatius, Sports Management) followed with nine and eight, respectively. Britten Beallis (Sr., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) added seven kills to the offensive effort, posting a .750 hitting percentage.
Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) orchestrated the attack with 29 assists. Defensively, Fellows recorded nine digs, while Taylor Brummond (Jr., Winsted, Minn., Sports Management) and Sam Spaude (Grad., Cedarburg, Wis., Master’s of Sports Management) each tallied eight. Spanner contributed seven digs.
At the net, Graceland held a slight 6-5 edge in total blocks. Beallis led William Penn with three block assists and one solo block.
“A little bit different look for our starters, but the show goes on, and we’ve got to keep rolling,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “Obviously, it’s nice to win in three, but we wanted to find our identity without some of our missing players. We’re at a point in the year where there is no pause button—you’ve got to figure it out. We’ve got a couple left to end the year, and tonight was a good step forward.”
Next Up: The Statesmen wrap up their home regular season against Ottawa Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Penn Activity Center in Heart play.
