William Penn Swept by MidAmerica Nazarene

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The Statesmen volleyball team battled, especially in the middle round, but was unable to steal a set in a 3-0 loss to MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Friday.

WPU (6-12, 2-5 Heart) lost by scores of 16-25, 25-27, 17-25. The team was outhit .274-.142.

The hosts were not able to muster much of a fight in the opening set, but gave the Pioneers (11-5, 6-1 Heart) all they could handle in the second round. William Penn was down by as many as seven points at 12-5 and faced set point (four in fact) at 24-20, but rallied back with four consecutive points to knot the score at 24-24.

The Statesmen, who owned a .317 attack clip, came from seven down on Tuesday against Graceland, but failed to complete Friday’s rally.

WPU’s momentum carried into the third set with the squad scoring three of the first four points. MNU fought back, though, and took the advantage for good at 6-5.

Jordan Carter (Jr., Sigourney, Iowa, Elementary Education) topped William Penn with 12 kills, while Claire Simmons (Sr., Williamsburg, Iowa, Psychology) was right behind her with 11 winners and a team-high .450 hitting mark.

Haley Smith (Jr., Adrian, Mich., Elementary Education) posted 35 assists, while Ashley Miller (Jr., Kalona, Iowa, Exercise Science) tallied 14 digs. Kiara Davis (So., Thibodaux, La., Biology) also led the defensive effort with two block assists.

“We came out flat tonight, but showed a lot of heart in the second set,” Head Coach Jennifer Carlson said. “Tonight showed how far we have come against ranked opposition. Unfortunately, we just cannot dig ourselves such large holes and we have to finish sets when we get the momentum.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Canton, Mo. next Tuesday to face Culver-Stockton in Heart action at 7 p.m.