Oskaloosa--The William Penn women's volleyball team hosted a triangular on Saturday against the Peru State Bobcats and the Columbia College Cougars.
The Statesmen earned the win against their conference rivals in three sets of 25-20, 25-22, 25-16, but dropped the second game to the Cougars in straight sets of 26-28, 20-25, 21-25. WPU moves to 3-5 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play and 10-8 overall.
WPU 3, PSC 0
The Bobcats took it to the Statesmen early on, taking a 6-2 lead to open the match to force a William Penn timeout. The navy and gold battled back, and took the lead with a six point run at 13-10. The Statesmen held the lead late, but the visitors battled back to make it a one point game at 20-19, but the navy and gold rattled off five of the next six to close the set at 25-19. Alyssa Young (Jr., Winter Springs, Fla., Biology) and Alyvia Johnson (Fr., Owatonna, Minn., Elementary Education) both had big opening sets, tallying four kills apiece.
The two teams played to a 10-10 tie to begin the second set, but the Bobcats held the advantage late into the set at 16-15. The Statesmen went on a small run after, taking a 21-18 lead. Peru State brought it to within one point once again, but William Penn held off the comeback attempt to take a 2-0 advantage with a 25-22 lead.
Just like the previous set, the two sides played even to a 10-10 tie in the early goings. This time, however, the Statesmen pulled away. Corrin Lepper (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Exercise Science) killed home three Statesmen points in a row to get the offense rolling again, and the run continued to put the navy and gold ahead 22-14 in a set they eventually won 25-16.
Johnson led the team in kills with 13, but Lepper had the most efficient hitting day on either team. Lepper had 10 kills to only two errors, good for a .500 hitting percentage. Young added eight kills at a .375 attacking clip.
Macy Bailey (Jr, Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management) worked as the primary setter, assisting 24 of the team's 40 kills. Annalise Whitcomb (Sr., Humboldt, Kan., General Accounting) finished with 12 assists.
Cameryn Campbell (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Elementary Education) operated as the libero in the first game, leading the team with 17 digs. Bailey was second on the team with eight.
WPU 0, CC 3
For game two, the Statesmen had a tough task ahead of them with the #22 Cougars. The attackers got off to a hot start, as Johnson drove home three finishers early on as the two played to an 11-11 tie. The two traded points for a little while, but the Cougars pulled away to set point at 24-19. The Statesmen mounted a furious comeback, ripping off five points in a row to tie the set at 24 all. Neither team could put the game away at first, but Columbia finally gained the advantage and took a 1-0 lead with a 28-26 win. Johnson had seven kills in the opening set.
The visitors opened the second set with a 6-3 lead to force a William Penn timeout early on. WPU battled back to turn it into a two point game, but that was as close as they would come as Columbia pulled away, holding their lead to win the second set 25-20.
The Cougars jumped out to a big lead again, forcing a WPU timeout after taking a 9-3 lead. Once again, the Statesmen clawed their way back. They brought it to within one on numerous occasions as late as 18-17, but then the Cougars pulled away for the final time as the visitors finished the match with a 25-21 victory.
Johnson led the team with her second consecutive 13 kill performance. Morgan Sanders (Fr., Lee's Summit, Mo., Biology) complemented her with eight kills.
Bailey led the team again with 18 assists. Whitcomb finished close behind her with 14.
Campbell had a big game in the back row, leading all players with 22 digs.
"I think our team has bounced back nicely after a couple of tough matches last week," said Head Coach Aleesha Cleaver. "I'm proud of our girls for earning a nice conference win in three against Peru State and I thought we really competed well with nationally ranked Columbia College. We need to continue to progress and carry this positive momentum into next week."
What's Next: The Statesmen have another home tilt on Tuesday against the Mount Mercy Mustangs. First serve is scheduled for 7 PM in the Penn Activity Center.
