Statesmen Grab Another Win Over Top-10 Competition

Sylvania, Ohio--The William Penn men's volleyball team slew another giant Saturday with a 3-1 non-conference victory over #8 Menlo (Calif.).

#9 WPU (5-1), which won by scores of 23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23, overcame being slightly outhit .304-.295 with a nice outing at the service line.  The navy and gold produced six aces against just 10 errors, while the Oaks had only four winners versus 16 serving miscues.

The Statesmen started the neutral-site match (hosted by Lourdes) with back-to-back points, but it was a bout with an abundance of ties and lead changes.  William Penn stayed in the lead at 7-6, but Menlo (4-1) scored seven of the next nine points and began to pull away.

Down 22-18, the navy and gold regrouped and went on a 5-1 run to knot the score at 23-23, but MC managed the final two points for the 1-0 advantage.

Looking to go up 2-0, Menlo owned a 9-6 edge in the second set, but four unanswered allowed William Penn to once again be out front and another 5-0 push by the Statesmen put the set out of reach in the lone runaway round.

The front half of the third set witnessed both teams holding a lead along with a handful of ties before four consecutive points, including a pair of aces by Landon Krause (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management), nudged WPU into the lead and it relinquished it.  WPU hit a match-high .429 in the second set.

Hoping to stay alive, the Oaks charged to a 3-0 edge in the fourth go-round, but the Statesmen eventually caught them at 11-11.  Menlo refused to give up the advantage without a fight, however, stretching the margin to two at 20-18 before Krause took over with a kill and an ace, in addition to two MC errors, and William Penn went on top for good.

Devyn Zavala (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Wellness and Recreation) and Britten Beallis (So., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) closed out the 'W' with kills for William Penn's final two points.

Krause headlined the Statesmen attack with 19 kills on a .395 clip.  Ike Papes (Sr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management), with 14 kills, and Zavala, with 10, also eclipsed double figures.  Beallis notched seven more, while Charlie Figy (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education PE K-12) accounted for six winners.

Krause put up big numbers across the board, also recording four aces and 10 digs for a double-double.  Zavala just missed a double-double with nine digs, while Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Fr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) finished with seven as well.

Matt Helmick (Sr., Fullerton, Calif., Business Management) tallied 41 assists, while Beallis (2 solos, 4 assists) and Zavala (6 assists) each managed six blocks.

"I am really proud of our effort today," Head Coach Luke Bentley said.  "We played a really tough team away from home and showed a fight we have been looking for.  This is a great step in the right direction for us."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids next Tuesday to face Mount Mercy in Heart of America Athletic Conference action at 7 p.m.