Aces Lead WPU to Four-Set Win Over Coyotes

Salina, Kan.--The William Penn men's volleyball team served up a season-high 14 aces to claim a 3-1 non-conference victory over Kansas Wesleyan Thursday.

#6 WPU (14-3) won by scores of 25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15.  The visitors, who posted a .295-.191 hitting advantage (64-35 margin in kills), made up for 25 attacking errors (just 13 for KWU).  The navy and gold also came up short in blocking, trailing the Coyotes 10-7 in that department.

William Penn won the first four points of the night, but could not pull away in a first set that witnessed the lead change hands on six occasions.  Down 23-21, Landon Krause (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management) notched an ace to trim the margin to one, and then Anthony Torres (Sr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science) served out the set with three aces in a row.  The senior finished with five aces in the match, while the Statesmen tallied 14 overall (against 16 errors).  Five different visiting players produced multiple aces.

WPU managed a 14-5 advantage in kills during the opening set, but also committed 11 errors.

In another tight set that was knotted at 6-6, Kansas Wesleyan (11-8) broke free in the second round with four of the next five points.  WPU rallied, however, and looked in control up 20-16 and then with a 22-19 edge, but the hosts closed out strong and evened up the match at one set apiece.

That momentum carried into the third set as the Coyotes scored the first two points and went up 4-1.  Kills by Britten Beallis (So., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) and Devyn Zavala (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Wellness and Recreation), followed by a Torres ace, brought the score to 4-4.  The score seesawed for the next several points until WPU turned a 12-11 deficit into a 15-12 lead.

The Statesmen, who eventually rolled to the 2-1 lead, never trailed again the remainder of the evening.  The victors improved as the match wore on, hitting .308 in the third set and .457 in the final round.

Krause recorded a double-double Thursday, posting 23 kills and 15 digs, while also managing four blocks and three aces.

Zavala, with 11 kills, and Beallis, with 10, also reached double figures, while Charlie Figy (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education PE K-12) and Sam Spaude (Jr., Cedarburg, Wis., Sports Management), contributed six and five kills, respectively.

Matt Helmick (Sr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) was not only a strong distributor (44 assists) as he also tallied five kills on just five attempts.

Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) joined Krause with double-digit digs (11), while Figy matched Krause with four blocks.

"This was another good team win on the road," Head Coach Luke Bentley said.  "Our guys continue to find ways to win in uncomfortable positions.  Kansas Wesleyan has some good talent and size."

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Tuesday to host Mount Mercy in Heart of America Athletic Conference action at 7 p.m.