Statesmen Down Yellowjackets in Four Sets

Lamoni--Alyvia Johnson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) delivered time and again Tuesday as the William Penn women's volleyball team defeated Graceland 3-1 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

WPU (11-7, 1-1 Heart) won by scores of 27-29, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17 to even its league record.

Johnson was the lone Statesmen in double figures as she posted a double-double of 21 kills (.294 attack pct.) and 13 digs.

In a seesaw first set, the visitors rallied from a 23-20 deficit to force set point at 25-24, but could not put away GU (1-10, 0-2 Heart).

WPU bounced back and only trailed twice the remainder of the night (1-0 in both the third and fourth sets).  Overall, the victors held a .167-.076 edge in hitting, which helped them overcame a serving deficiency as it had just seven aces, compared to nine for Graceland.  The Statesmen also had just four blocks, while GU managed five.

Patricia De Souza (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management) was her crew's most efficient hitter with a .636 hitting clip that netted seven kills, while Katlyn Jeter (Sr., Solon, Iowa, Business Management) added six more.

Lydia Huston (Jr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) assisted 31 times, while Kaya Caprini (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology), who had 14 digs, also produced two aces.  Jeter was the top back row player with 17 digs, while the duo of Huston and Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (So., Surprise, Ariz., Undecided) recorded two block assists each.

"It feels great to back in the win column, especially on the road for conference," Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said.  "We were able to get players back from illness and return to our groove.  This was a little bit of revenge from last year's road loss."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Parkville, Mo. Friday to meet Park in Heart action at 7 p.m.