Statesmen Sweep Eutectics

Oskaloosa--The William Penn men's volleyball team earned the victory over the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy on Saturday, winning in straight sets of 25-19, 25-17, 25-23. The Statesmen are now 5-1 overall, and own a perfect 4-0 record in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

William Penn got off to a good start, jumping out to a 5-1 lead, thanks in part to a pair of kills from Anthony Torres (So., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science). The Eutectics brought it back to a tie, went on a run to create separation, never allowing UHSP to threaten again and taking the opening frame. The Statesmen struggled with their attack in the first set, but had a strong defensive presence and held the Eutectics to a -.148 hitting percentage.

The second set was closely contested, and the score remained tied at 12-12 approaching the midway point. Louie Batang (Fr., Northbrook, Ill., Secondary Education) stepped up to the service line and delivered back-to-back aces to begin a run for William Penn, and the navy and gold followed up their four point run with five more in a row, backed by two finishers from Leonardo Minetto (So., Florianopolis, Brazil, Political Science). The separation held up, and the Statesmen jumped ahead 2-0 over the visitors. WPU found their rhythm offensively, hitting a strong .318 in the second.

Looking for the sweep, Shawn Mason (Sr., Orlando, Fla., Sociology) was involved on both sides of the ball early on, getting a block and a kill for William Penn's first two points of the third. UHSP battled back into the game, tying the score at 12 and eventually taking an 18-15 lead to force a Statesmen timeout. The navy and gold rallied to tie, and came out on top of a back-and-forth affair, taking the final two points to claim the victory.

Minetto led the Statesmen with seven kills, hitting .267 and also adding a pair of blocks. Caleb Seguin (Sr., Pickering, Ontario, Digital Communication) complemented his efforts with six finishers, with Torres and Figy each chipping in with five. Figy also led with three rejections.

Batang and Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) split setting duties, with Batang assisting 12 Statesmen finishers and Helmick adding 11. Charlie Bruecker (Fr., Kaukauna, Wis., Business Management) led the defense with nine digs, and Helmick tallied seven.

"Another solid performance from our guys," said Head Coach Luke Bentley. "Nice to see a different group out there. We're ready to get back to work on Monday."

What's Next: The Statesmen will have their biggest challenge of the season on Tuesday as the #4 Park Pirates will come into town. First serve is scheduled for 7 PM.