William Penn Sweeps Weekend at Trojans Invite

William Penn University Athletics

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Deerfield, Ill.–The Statesmen women’s volleyball team played three matches in the Trojan Invite on Friday and Saturday in non-Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

The team impressed, going undefeated to improve its record to 9-4. William Penn opened Friday with a win in a matchup against Indiana University Northwest (25-19, 26-28, 25-6, 25-16).

On Saturday, WPU was challenged by the host team, Trinity International, in a five-set match that saw the Statesmen pull off a resilient win despite dropping the third after fourth sets after winning the first two sets (25-16, 25-12, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9). They capped off the impressive weekend run with a sweep over St. Louis College of Pharmacy (25-16, 25-21, 25-22) to give the team a season-best four match win streak.

WPU 3, IUN 1

The navy and gold outhit the Redhawks .268-.058, led by Corrin Lepper (Fr., Jefferson City, Mo., Exercise Science) finishing with a season-high 15 kills while hitting at a .500 clip. Jordan Carter (Sr., Sigourney, Iowa, Elementary Education) finished with 12 kills along with 12 digs to give her a double-double on the evening.

The Statesmen had two setters break into double digits, led by Haley Smith (Sr., Adrian, Mich., Elementary Education) with 22 assists and Elena Lucero (Fr., Yuba City, Calif., Political Science) finishing the match with 12.

Defensively, WPU shined with three players tallying double-digit digs. Carter had her 12, while Ashley Miller (Sr., Kalona, Iowa, Exercise Science) led the team with 25 and Haley Vampran (Sr., Fort Worth, Texas, Exercise Science) finished with her season-best 19 digs.

William Penn did solid work along the net as they totaled six blocks as a team with Kiara Davis (Jr., Thibodaux, La., Biology) leading the team with three.

WPU 3, TIU 2

The Statesmen faced off against the host Trojans to begin Saturday.

The visiting William Penn leapt out to a two-set lead, but would squander it to a tough Trojan team. Fortunately, the crew showed some great resiliency to come back and win the fifth and take the match.

The visitors edged the home team in hitting by a slight .195-.122 margin and had three players with at least 10 kills. Carter had her largest output of the tournament with 20, Nashali Cruz (So., Bayamon, P.R., Biology) finished with 12, and Lepper put down 10 of her own.

The two-setter combo of Smith and Lucero produced a total of 49 assists. Smith led the way with 26, while Lucero was right behind her with 23.

Miller continued her recent strong play with 23 digs, complimented by Vampran’s 17. Smith recorded 10 digs of her own to record a double-double.

WPU 3, SLCOP 0

To finish the weekend, William Penn swept St. Louis College of Pharmacy in straight sets to complete the tournament with a 3-0 record.

The Statesmen hit at a strong .236 clip, while the defense held the Eutectics to a .099 hitting percentage. Carter finished the match with 14 kills, giving her a total of 46 in the three matches. Alicia Jaquez (So., Farmington, N.M., Biology) and Cruz tallied nine kills each in route to the victory.

The William Penn setters did a great job of putting their hitters in position. The team finished with 46 assists led by Smith’s 24, giving her 72 on the weekend. Marie Garcia (Sr., Kanehoe, Hawaii, Communications) had a solid game with 13 assists.

The sweep was the team’s fifth of the season.

Next Up: The navy and gold will resume Heart action when they travel to Cedar Rapids to take on Mount Mercy on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Posted by on Sep 9 2018. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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