William Penn Posts Perfect Weekend at KWU Tournament
Salina, Kan.–The Statesmen women’s volleyball team was unmatched Friday and Saturday as it won all four of its matches at the Kansas Wesleyan Tournament.
WPU (8-5) opened the weekend with a 3-0 sweep over Xavier (La.) (25-14, 25-22, 25-15) Friday and then also swept Stephens 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-14) later in the day.
On Saturday, the Statesmen took down host Kansas Wesleyan 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22) before defeating Sterling 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 25-20) as well.
WPU has now won five matches in a row.
WPU 3, Xavier (La.) 0
The Statesmen, who outhit the Gold Nuggets .290-.096, trailed very few times in the match.
Alyvia Johnson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) guided William Penn with 11 kills. Katlyn Jeter (Sr., Solon, Iowa, Business Management) was next with nine winners, while Jade Melton (Sr., Hallsville, Mo., Psychology) added eight kills.
Lydia Huston (Jr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) assisted 18 times, while the duo of Cate Hahn (Sr., St. Charles, Mo., Biology) and Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (So., Surprise, Ariz., Undecided) both served up four aces. Overall, William Penn managed 14 aces.
Defensively, Johnson recorded a double-double with 17 digs.
WPU 3, Stephens 0
After rolling to an easy first-set victory, the Statesmen had to overcome a five-point deficit in the second round. They then closed out the sweep by tallying 15 of the final 19 points of the match.
WPU posted a .187-.019 hitting advantage with Melton headlining the offense with 13 kills. Johnson added 12 more, while Huston managed 32 assists.
Kaya Caprini (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology) had five aces and a squad-best 20 digs. Johnson notched another double-double by also tallying 12 digs.
Khiani Jackson (Jr., St. Joseph, Mo., Psychology) was her crew’s top net defender with five blocks.
WPU 3, Kansas Wesleyan 1
In by far the tightest bout of the weekend, the Statesmen were narrowly outhit .279-.271. WPU slipped by the Coyotes with an 11-6 advantage in aces, while both sides had six blocks.
Jeter, with 24 kills, and Johnson, with 21, dominated the offensive end. Jeter attacked at an impressive .450 clip.
Melton contributed seven kills, while the duo of Bojorquez-McFadden and Patricia De Souza (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management) both ended up with five.
Huston assisted on 53 of her squad’s kills in addition to matching Melton for the team lead in aces with three. The junior finished with a double-double as she notched 13 digs to pace William Penn.
Jeter put up a double-double as well with 12 digs.
WPU 3, Sterling 0
A .167-.124 hitting edge lifted the Statesmen an unblemished weekend. Both teams served well with William Penn holding a 13-10 margin in aces, while the victors had to overcome a 7-2 deficit in blocks.
Jeter and Johnson both produced 19 kills, while Delaney Morrow (Moore, Okla., Business Management) finished the victory with five kills.
Huston had 28 assists, while she and Bojorquez-McFadden each recorded three aces.
Caprini’s 21 digs were a team high, while Johnson had her third double-double of the weekend with 15 digs.
During the weekend, Johnson eclipsed both 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.
“We were firing on all cylinders this weekend against some great competition,” Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said. “We were able to establish an offensive present early in sets and sustained it through the weekend. It feels like we are on the right track to finding our rhythm, especially while playing on the road. This was a great way to finish our tournament season before beginning league play shortly.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Hannibal, Mo. next Tuesday to compete in a non-conference triangular. The Statesmen will first face Haskell Indian Nations at 3 p.m. before meeting host Hannibal-LaGrange at 5 p.m.
