WPU Overcomes Slow Start to Notch First Win of Season

Elgin, Ill.--The William Penn men's volleyball team got better as the night grew on as it defeated Judson 3-1 in non-conference action Friday.

The Statesmen (1-1) earned their first victory of the season by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-18.  The navy and gold posted a .320 attack clip, while keeping the Eagles (0-2) in the red at -.036.  WPU did not allow JU to hit in the positives in any of the four sets (high of .000 twice).

Trailing by as many as five points in the opening set, William Penn clawed back and closed to within one at 24-23 before finally giving up the winning point on a service error.  In a matchup that became quite lopsided, the Statesmen allowed the home team to stay alive as they committed 21 mistakes at the service line, including nine in the first round.

WPU fell behind 3-1 in the second set, but paced by a pair of kills via Devyn Zavala (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Wellness and Recreation), the visitors went on an 8-2 run and never looked back.

Three kills by Landon Krause (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management) helped the navy and gold jump out to a 10-2 edge in the third set.  William Penn dominated the round by producing a .550 mark (13 kills, two errors).

Looking to close out JU, the Statesmen leaned on Krause, whose two kills assisted in turning a 9-8 deficit into a 13-9 advantage and the squad cruised to the win.  The senior finished the bout with 15 kills on a .542 hitting mark.

Middle hitters Charlie Figy (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education PE K-12), with a .778 attack clip, and Britten Beallis (So., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management), with a .375 mark, both tallied eight kills, while Zavala contributed seven as well.

Matt Helmick (Sr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) was close to a double-double, topping WPU in both assists (36) and digs (7)

Figy also starred defensively with a team-best six blocks (four solos, two assists).  Beallis and Krause each stopped three Eagle attacks.

"This was a great team win," Head Coach Luke Bentley said.  "I am proud of the resiliency we showed after a tough opening set."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Chicago, Ill. Saturday to face #8 Saint Xavier in non-conference play at 10 a.m.