WPU Drops First Set, Rallies to Claim Season Sweep of Clarke

Dubuque--The Statesmen women's volleyball team had its defense on full display Tuesday as it defeated Clarke 3-1 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

William Penn (17-14, 7-8 Heart) won by scores of 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24.  Both sides reached double figures in blocks with the visitors holding a 14-10 edge.

WPU, which also won 3-1 over Clarke in Oskaloosa back on October 5, posted a .123-.084 attacking edge, but truly won the match at the defensive net with eight separate players recording a block.

The Pride (12-19, 3-14 Heart) led the first set from start to finish.  William Penn managed to get within one at 19-18, but was unable to get over the hump.

The navy and gold started slow in the second round as well, facing a 14-9 deficit, but then rattled off four unanswered points as part of a massive 12-2 run as they evened the match at one set apiece.

With the momentum firmly shifted to the visitors, they rolled out to a huge edge in the third, but needed to fight off a CU rally to go ahead 2-1 in the bout.

Claiming the opening four points of the fourth set, the Pride appeared primed to take the match to a decisive fifth.  Fortunately, the Statesmen responded with four in a row to set up a back-and-forth battle down the stretch.  As the contest went down to the wire, Katlyn Jeter (Sr., Solon, Iowa, Business Management), who paced her team with 16 kills, took over, recording kills in three of the last four WPU points, including the final two points on Tuesday.

Jeter finished with a double-double as she came up with 14 digs as well.

Alyvia Johnson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) joined her teammate in double figures with 10 kills, while Patricia De Souza (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management) had eight winners and Jade Melton (Hallsville, Mo., Psychology) contributed six more.

Setters Emalee Young (So., O'Fallon, Mo., Nursing) and Lydia Huston (Jr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) both ended the match with 18 assists, while Young also had a double-double with 10 digs.

Mia Brady (Jr., Pontiac, Ill., Exercise Science) made her impact at the service line with four aces; overall, William Penn had six aces compared to seven for CU.

Kaya Caprini (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology) topped the defensive back row with 17 digs, but the aforementioned blocking was the star.

The trio of De Souza, Johnson, and Khiani Jackson (Jr., St. Joseph, Mo., Psychology) all had a part of five blocks, while Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (So., Surprise, Ariz., Undecided) helped stop four balls.  Nicole McManus (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) also produced three block assists.

"Tonight was a great team win," Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said.  "It is always hard to play on the road, but we persevered after the opening set and started playing more comfortably.  Everyone stepped up in some way, offensively and defensively.  Our tough serving was huge in keeping us on top.  It feels good to pick up a season sweep.  I am just so proud of how our team played."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Olathe, Kan. Friday to face MidAmerica Nazarene in Heart play at 7 p.m.