William Penn Handles #15 MMU in Straight Sets to Open Heart Play
Cedar Rapids–The Statesmen men’s volleyball team cleared its first hurdle of the new league season as it swept #15 Mount Mercy 3-0 in its Heart of America Athletic Conference opener Tuesday.
#9 WPU (6-1, 1-0 Heart), which won its sixth match in a row, was victorious by scores of 25-20, 26-24, 25-21. The visitors won the hitting battle .342-.264.
William Penn, playing for the first time in 10 days, showed no signs of being rusty as it began the evening with the opening point and then sprinted out to a 4-1 edge.
The Mustangs (10-1, 0-1 Heart) responded, however, and eventually caught WPU at 9-9. The squads then split the next two points before the navy and gold went on a pair of 4-0 runs and rolled to the opening-set win.
Devyn Zavala (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Wellness and Recreation) guided his crew with four kills in the first round as William Penn posted a match-best .417 attack clip.
The second set was a much tighter affair that featured 18 ties and four lead changes. Neither team led by more than two points, and with a 23-21 advantage, the Statesmen allowed Mount Mercy to tie the round one final time at 24-24. Fortunately, Britten Beallis (So., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) recorded a kill on the following play, and then he and Landon Krause (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management) stopped a Mustang attack to close out the set for a 2-0 lead.
William Penn took the set despite being outhit .400-.231 as 10 service errors (18 total) were too much for Mount Mercy to overcome.
The visiting squad lost the first point of the third set, but then won back-to-back battles and kept MMU in the rearview the rest of the way to finish off the sweep and hand the Mustangs their first loss of the campaign. Up 18-11, WPU put it in cruise control a bit early, permitting the hosts to close within two, but the Statesmen regrouped to close it out.
Ike Papes (Sr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management) managed five of his team-high 10 kills (.316 attack pct.) in the third go-round. Krause was next offensively with nine winners, while Charlie Figy (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education PE K-12) put down six kills on a WPU-best .750 hitting clip.
The duo of Beallis and Zavala both contributed five attacking points as well. Overall, the navy and gold only committed nine errors in 76 total swings.
Matt Helmick (Sr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) assisted on 29 of his team’s 35 kills, while Krause tallied two aces. The Statesmen managed five service winners compared to 12 errors, while Mount Mercy tallied just three aces.
Krause’s six blocks (two solos, four assists) headlined the net defense, while Beallis was right behind him with five (one solo, four assists). WPU edged its host 7-6 in blocks.
Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Fr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) recorded seven digs as the victor’s best back-row player.
“This was a great win to open conference play,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “I am very pleased with the effort tonight as we continue to progress.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Marshall, Mo. Friday to face Missouri Valley in Heart play at 7 p.m.
