William Penn Endures Five-Set Heartbreaker on Senior Night
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s volleyball team could not get over the hump Friday as it fell 3-2 to #5 Grand View in a Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup.
On Senior Night, #4 WPU (20-5, 13-4 Heart) fell by scores of 22-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-18, 14-16. The loss drops the squad into a tie for first in the league with Grand View (GVU holds the tiebreaker), but the navy and gold can still claim a share of the crown with a win over Graceland at home next Tuesday (7 p.m. start).
The hosts won the attacking battle .371-.250, including hitting well north of .300 in each set. Unfortunately, the Vikings (19-6, 13-4 Heart) managed seven aces (19 errors), while the Statesmen were unable to come up with any service winners (19 errors).
WPU, which also lost in five sets to GVU in March, came out strong with a 4-1 edge in the opening set, but as went the entire night, the first round was a dogfight with multiple ties and lead changes. GVU took the lead for good at 14-13 and pulled away for the win. William Penn closed to within one at 23-22, but could not overcome the visitors.
Up 6-2 in the second, the hosts looked on their way to easily evening up the contest, but the Vikings kept the pressure on and went on top late. Down 22-21, the Statesmen took advantage of a pair of Grand View service errors and eventually won in extra play. Ike Papes (Sr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management) came alive in the second set with six kills. The senior had a big night, posting a match-high 24 kills.
William Penn drew even with GVU a few times in the third set, including at 22-22, but for the most part, the round was controlled by the visiting crew as it pulled back ahead 2-1.
Needing to win the fourth set to stay alive, the Statesmen discovered another gear, recording four runs of at least three consecutive points for the most-lopsided triumph of the evening. William Penn managed a .367-.047 hitting advantage to force a fifth and decisive set.
GVU scored first in the final round, but the navy and gold responded with back-to-back winners and stayed in front for the next several points Unfortunately, a 7-5 lead was erased with three unanswered and the Vikings never relinquished the edge. At 14-12, the Statesmen did score two in a row, but Grand View ended the evening with two points of its own.
Papes’ 24 kills came on a strong .467 hitting clip. Landon Krause (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management) also eclipsed double digits with 16 kills, while also tallying 11 digs for a double-double. Papes just missed a double-double with nine digs in addition to a squad-best five block assists.
The trio of Charlie Figy (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education PE K-12), Britten Beallis (So., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management), and Devyn Zavala (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Wellness and Recreation) all just missed double figures with nine kills each.
Matt Helmick (Sr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) matched Krause with a double-double, recording 59 assists (one shy of the school record) in addition to 16 digs. Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Fr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) topped William Penn in that department with 19 digs.
The hosts edged Grand View in blocks 8-7 with Beallis also showing well at the net with four block assists.
