Statesmen Sweep Pride for Fifth in a Row

Dubuque--Behind its most efficient serving performance of the year, the William Penn men's volleyball team swept Clarke 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Tuesday.

WPU (7-5, 6-3 Heart), which won by scores of 25-16, 25-17, 25-17, recorded 10 aces against just 12 services errors, while outhitting the Pride .353-.067.  The win is the program's fifth in a row.

CU (5-8, 3-6 Heart) scored the first point of the night, but the Statesmen answered with three in a row as part of a 6-1 run and never trailed again for the decisive win.

Landon Krause (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management) was the offensive star all contest, including the start of the second round as he scored each of WPU's first five points via kill.  The second set was a hitting duel with WPU holding a .597-.500 edge (14 kills versus just three errors).

The visitors trailed several times early in the second round, including being behind 6-4, but the navy and gold bounced back with four consecutive points.  The unanswered streak was part of a 10-3 run by William Penn that was fueled by three aces, including two by Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management), who had a team-high four overall.  The junior wrapped up the set with back-to-back aces as well.

William Penn recorded three of the first three points to open the third set, but the Pride responded to go up 5-3.  Consecutive aces by Eli Herro (Sr., Dousman, Wis., Business Management) then paced a four-point run for the Statesmen.  Unfortunately, Clarke stayed close and eventually claimed a 13-12 advantage.

WPU scored two of the next three points, though, and then closed out the sweep with a dominant defensive net effort, getting four of its eight blocks down the stretch.  Krause was again impressive offensively in the third, posting six kills as part of a 14-kill overall showing.  He hit .600 Tuesday and also topped the defense with five digs.

Papes produced nine kills, while Herro had six.  Setter Matt Helmick (Jr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) helped with 31 of William Penn's kills.

Defensively, Charlie Figy (Jr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education), who had four kills, matched Papes with three blocks.

Torres was also a factor at the service line with three aces, including one that ended the night.

"Our guys gave a great effort tonight," Head Coach Luke Bentley said.  "It is always tough to win on the road, especially in our conference."

Next Up: William Penn travels to St. Louis, Mo. Friday to face Health Sciences and Pharmacy in Heart play at 7 p.m.