William Penn Notches Sweep of Yellowjackets
Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s volleyball team rolled in its first two sets Tuesday and then produced a big rally in the third to sweep Graceland 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
Winners of three in a row, #14 WPU (5-5, 4-3 Heart) defeated the Yellowjackets by scores of 25-13, 25-15, 25-23. The navy and gold are above .500 in the league for the first time this season.
The hosts hit .309 as a collective unit, while limiting GU (1-6, 1-5 Heart) to red numbers at -.023. They permitted the visitors to score the first point of the night, but then answered with consecutive points and never trailed again.
The Yellowjackets closed to within one at 8-7, but runs of four and six unanswered points put the opening set to rest.
WPU began the second set with the first four points, only to see Graceland respond to make it 5-4. It would quickly turn into a blowout, however, as an 8-1 run helped the Statesmen distance themselves and go up 2-0 in the match.
Up 3-0 in the third round, William Penn appeared poised to cruise to victory, but GU held strong and not only caught their hosts, but surpassed them with a 9-1 run that included three aces. WPU won the aces battle 6-4.
A kill by Landon Krause (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management), though, sparked the navy and gold as they turned the tide and got within one at 17-16. WPU was unfortunately not able to get over the hump for a few more points, that was until Eli Herro (Sr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) managed the last of his five kills to put his squad ahead 23-22.
The Yellowjackets scored the next point, but then committed back-to-back hitting errors (21 for the match) to seal the Statesmen victory. The final point was a defensive win for William Penn as Herro and CJ Rettig (Sr., Sierra Madre, Calif., Educational Studies) blocked down the GU attempt. The victors finished with an 8-4 advantage in blocks.
Krause guided the home squad with 13 kills on a .320 attack mark, while also tallying two aces. Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management) just missed double figures with nine winners, while also having two aces of his own. Charlie Figy (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education) contributed four kills with two aces as well.
Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) closed out the win with a double-double of 31 assists and a team-high 11 digs, while Figy and Rettig each had four block assists Tuesday.
“This was another solid performance from our guys,” Head Coach Luke Bentley said. “They continue to push and find ways to win.”
Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Thursday to host Grand View in Heart action at 7 p.m.
