William Penn Takes One at Grinnell Invite
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Grinnell–It was another 1-3 weekend for the Statesmen volleyball team as it competed at the Grinnell Labor Day Tournament Friday and Saturday.
William Penn (2-6) began the weekend with a 3-1 loss on Friday to Minnesota-Morris (20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 24-26), but rebounded with a 3-0 win over host Grinnell (25-20, 25-18, 25-15). On Saturday, the Statesmen lost 3-1 to Greenville (Ill.) (19-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-25) and 3-0 to Graceland (16-25, 20-25, 23-25).
The navy and gold were without the services of starter and returning all-conference performer Jeanette Cunningham (Sr., Mt. Orab, Ohio, Elementary Education) who was out due to injury.
Minnesota-Morris 3, William Penn 1
WPU, which was outhit .178-.130, was led by 11 kills from Kylie Giger (So., Elkhart, Ind., Exercise Science) and ten from Kristal Campos (Jr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology). Alanna Connors (Sr., Libertyville, Ill., Biology) added eight winners and Shawni Wills (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) managed seven more.
Leyra Jusino (So., Bayamon, P.R., General Biology) finished with 20 assists, while Dayna Sammons (Jr., Menomonee Falls, Wis., Software Engineering) had one less with 19.
Giger, who was an all-tournament selection, also posted three aces and four blocks (two solos, two assists), and Danielle Breeher (So., St. Louis, Mo., Undecided) dug 34 balls
William Penn 3, Grinnell 0
The Statesmen hit .177, but more impressively, held the Pioneers to a paltry .020 mark. Campos was the lone player in double figures with 11 kills, while Sammons (11 assists) and Jusino (nine) combined as a solid setting duo.
Breeher scored three aces and Wills produced ten digs in the team’s lone victory.
Greenville 3, William Penn 1
Both squads had solid hitting numbers with Greenville edging WPU .259-.208. Giger led her team in kills (14), aces (three), and blocks (three–one solo, two assists).
Campos, with 13, and Connors, with ten, also produced offensively, while Sammons finished with 22 assists. Breeher’s 25 digs were a squad high.
Graceland 3, William Penn 0
William Penn’s most lopsided loss witnessed the squad hit .173 with Campos tallying a team-best nine kills. Jusino had nine assists, Giger posted two aces and four blocks (one solo, three assists), and Breeher recorded 12 digs.
“We played pretty well at times and are getting better,” Head Coach Jennifer Carlson said. “We have lots of potential and I am going to push our players so they can really see how successful they can be. We had control of many of the sets, but could not hold the momentum and finish.”
Next: William Penn will play in its third-consecutive tournament next weekend at the Knox Tournament in Galesburg, Ill. On Friday, the Statesmen meet host Knox at 3 p.m. and Principia (Ill.) at 7 p.m. On Saturday, WPU takes on MacMurray (Ill.) at 10 a.m. and Coe at noon.
