WPU Splits Against Benedictine, Cardinal Stritch

William Penn University Athletics

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The Statesmen volleyball team did not open league action with a bang, but responded well later in the day to go 1-1 in a triangular Friday.

William Penn (2-5, 0-1 Heart) fell 3-0 (21-25, 14-25, 21-25) to Benedictine in its Heart of America Athletic Conference opener, but then knocked off non-conference foe Cardinal Stritch 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19).

Benedictine 3, WPU 0

The Statesmen played even with the Ravens (2-0, 1-0 Heart) through the first 28 points of the match, but the visitors scored the next two points and WPU could not get any closer. The hosts struggled to get things going in the second set and quickly fell into a 2-0 hole.

The third set started with the same issues as William Penn fell behind 7-1. Still behind six at 12-6, the Statesmen strung together a nice run and eventually caught BC at 14-14. Unfortunately, the tank eventually emptied and Benedictine closed with the final three points to finish the sweep.

WPU was outhit .385-.270 with the middle hitters showing the way. Nashali Cruz (Fr., Bayamon, P.R., Biology) had 11 kills and a .526 hitting mark, while Kiara Davis (So., Thibodaux, La., Biology) added nine winners with a .500 clip.

Karissa Wilcoxson (Sr., Ottumwa, Iowa, Education) was also productive with six kills. Haley Smith (Jr., Adrian, Mich., Elementary Education) managed 29 assists and Jordan Carter (Jr., Sigourney, Iowa, Elementary Education) served two aces.

Defensively, Ashley Miller (Jr., Kalona, Iowa, Exercise Science) topped her squad with 14 digs, while Davis had one solo block and two block assists.

WPU 3, Cardinal Stritch 1

The Benedictine match was played at 3:30 so many members of Statesmen Nation, including what has proven to be quite a boisterous student-led Penn Zone, were not able to attend. The 7:30 showing against Cardinal Stritch was a different story, however, and the navy and gold fed off the crowd’s energy.

William Penn trailed just once in the opening set at 13-12, but rattled off four straight points and never trailed again to claim the early advantage.

The second set witnessed the Statesmen pulling out to an 8-2 edge. The margin was eventually trimmed to only one, but the home team finished strong with the last three points.

The Wolves (0-2) captured their first momentum of the match, going up by as many as eight points before WPU bounced back in an attempt to wrap up the sweep. The Statesmen erased a 22-14 deficit with eight consecutive points, but it was CSU who came out on top to stay alive and force a fourth round.

The navy and gold carried that late-set momentum into the fourth to lead 9-3 and never allowed the visitors to make it interesting.

The hitting marks dipped considerably in the latter match with William Penn owning a .042-.018 advantage. Claire Simmons (Sr., Williamsburg, Iowa, Psychology) guided her crew with 10 kills and a .258 attack percentage. The senior completed a double-double, also digging out 10 opponent hits; she was good for four aces as well.

Carter and Cruz also narrowly missed double figures with nine kills each, while Smith and Taniah Ayap (Fr., Hilo, Hawaii, Exercise Science) shared setting duties and each managed 17 assists.

Miller notched 28 digs on the defensive end, and Cruz assisted on a trio of blocks.

“It is disappointing that we did not play better in our conference opener,” Head Coach Jennifer Carlson said. “We had two really good days of practice for preparation, but unfortunately we did not take that into our first action.”

“I am really proud, though, of the way we bounced back with the win against Cardinal Stritch,” Carlson added. “We are still moving in a positive direction.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Peru, Neb. next Tuesday to face Peru State in Heart play at 7 p.m.

Posted by on Aug 26 2017. 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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