William Penn Knocks Off Mustangs in Five Sets

Oskaloosa--The Statesmen women's volleyball team needed a big win and got it Friday, taking down Mount Mercy 3-2 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

WPU (12-11, 2-5 Heart) won by scores of 25-23, 23-25, 27-25, 20-25, 15-11, snapping a four-match losing streak.  The hosts outhit MMU (10-12, 6-2 Heart) by a .174-.148 margin and were dominant at the defensive net with 12 blocks, compared to just two by the Mustangs.

The navy and gold got out of the proverbial gates on the slow side, trailing 4-0, but bounced back in a match that featured a plethora of ties and lead changes.

Down 23-21 in the opening set, WPU took advantage of three Mustang attack errors to come out on top.

MMU got off to another hot start in the second round, but this time never relinquished the lead.  The Statesmen were able to draw even at 18-18, only to have the visitors score four in a row and hold off one more William Penn charge, tying the match at one set apiece.

Facing a 19-13 deficit, the home crew appeared to be on its way to dropping the third set as well.  Fortunately, Alyvia Johnson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) and Katlyn Jeter (Sr., Solon, Iowa, Business Management) came to the rescue as they accounted for five total kills as well as an ace in the waning moments of the set.  Johnson finished with 18 kills and Jeter was right behind her with 17.

Although they pulled out to a 6-3 advantage, the navy and gold failed to put the match on ice as Mount Mercy went on a 14-5 run.  The Statesmen then tallied four unanswered points, but it was not enough to prevent the Mustangs from forcing a decisive fifth set.

WPU started out strong in the fifth set as Lydia Huston (Jr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) used a pair of aces to give her team a 4-0 lead.  The squad would never trail in the fifth.  MMU closed to within one point on two occasions, but the Statesmen always responded, eventually finishing the match with a block by Cate Hahn (Sr., St. Charles, Mo., Biology) and Nicole McManus (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management).

McManus guided the defensive net play with one solo block and five assists, while Hahn finished with three block assists.  Johnson was also a major player in the block with five assisted stops.

Johnson did a lot of everything, posting a double-double by tying a career high with 29 digs.  Kaya Caprini (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology) ended up right behind her with 26 digs.

In addition to Johnson and Jeter's performances, Hahn and Patricia De Souza (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management) were also strong offensively with eight kills apiece.  Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (So., Surprise, Ariz., Undecided) tallied five as well.

The setting duo of Huston and Emalee Young (So., O'Fallon, Mo., Nursing) both assisted on 27 winners, while Young matched Johnson with a double-double by coming up with 14 digs.  Maddy Gustafson (Fr., Marion, Iowa, Psychology) recorded 14 digs as well.

Caprini's contributions stretched to the service line as she also had three aces.

"This was a huge win and one we really needed in order to get back on track," Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said.  "We tried a new lineup and we were firing on all cylinders.  Some underclassmen stepped up which was great.  We were defensive machines, while also executing in big moments.  I am very proud of our team for fighting and working hard for every point."

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host Clarke in Heart play at 11 a.m.