Statesmen Come Up Empty in Nebraska Trip, Drop Heart Opener

Peru, Neb.--The William Penn women's volleyball team started its league season with a negative result and unfortunately also fell in a non-conference battle as it finished 0-2 in a triangular hosted by Peru State Saturday.

WPU (10-7, 0-1 Heart) began Saturday with a 3-1 loss to Heart of America Athletic Conference foe Peru State (22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 16-25) before being swept by Bethel (Kan.) 3-0 (20-25, 14-25, 13-25).

Peru State 3, WPU 1

The navy and gold, who were outhit .184-.122, were even in the first set at 22-22, but the Bobcats closed with three consecutive points.

The visitors tied the match by utilizing a 9-0 run in the second set to pull away from PSC.

Unfortunately, the Statesmen never led again for the remainder of the bout and fell to PSC.

Katlyn Jeter (Sr., Solon, Iowa, Business Management) guided William Penn with 18 kills, while Alyvia Johnson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) was also big with 13 winners.  Jade Melton (Hallsville, Mo., Psychology) eclipsed double figures as well with 10 kills, and Khiani Jackson (Jr., St. Joseph, Mo., Psychology) added five.

Cate Hahn (Sr., St. Charles, Mo., Biology) assisted on 35 of WPU's kills and also produced two aces.  Unfortunately, the Bobcats tallied 15 aces against the Statesmen.

Kaya Caprini (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology) headlined the defense with 22 digs, while Johnson finished a double-double with 19 digs.  Jackson was her crew's best net defender with one solo block and one block assist.

Bethel (Kan.) 3, WPU 0

William Penn managed to win the first three points of the match, but never truly settled in versus the Threshers.  Overall, WPU was outhit .267 to -.037.

Johnson topped her team with nine kills, while Jackson contributed five winners.

Hahn was good for 22 assists, Hahn and Delaney Morrow (Moore, Okla., Business Management) both served up two aces, and Caprini managed 17 digs.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Lamoni next Tuesday to face Graceland in Heart action at 7 p.m.