William Penn Tops Park in Epic Battle of Top-Five Programs

Oskaloosa--The Statesmen men's volleyball team padded an already-impressive resume with a signature win Tuesday, knocking off #2 Park 3-1 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

#5 WPU (12-2, 6-1 Heart), which is now riding its second six-match winning streak of the season, won by scores of 25-23, 30-32, 31-29, 25-18.

The highly-anticipated matchup lived up to its billing with each squad showing off their prowess on both ends.  The Statesmen held a .356-.326 hitting edge and outblocked the Pirates 9-6.  William Penn also managed a better evening at the service line with five aces against 14 errors, while PU (13-2, 5-1 Heart) produced just three aces versus 23 mistakes in dropping its first league contest of the season.

The opening set was a barnburner featuring 14 ties and six lead changes.  Up 18-15, the Statesmen unfortunately gave up six of the next eight points and fell behind 21-20.  Still down one at 22-21, the hosts reeled off three in a row, including a block by the trio of Charlie Figy (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Secondary Education PE K-12), Cezar Pedroso (So., Curitiba, Brazil, Software Engineering), and Devyn Zavala (Sr., Long Beach, Calif., Wellness and Recreation).  It actually marked just the first block for the home squad in the match.

WPU eventually capped the victory with a service error by Park.

Eight early ties highlighted the start of a memorable second round.  Ahead by one at 7-6, the navy and gold faltered for a spell, watching the Pirates go on a 10-3 run.  However, five kills, led by two from Ike Papes (Sr., Elwood, Ill., Sports Management), pulled the home team even at 18-18.  From there, it was a back-and-forth battle with both teams holding set points, but the visitors finally closing it out at 32-30.

The Statesmen posted an impressive .441 hitting clip in the second set, but PU was even better at .545.

Both crews fell off those strong offensive paces in an important third set that would determine who would go ahead 2-1.  William Penn was in front for the first part of the round until the Pirates went on a 4-1 run.  The navy and gold rallied to retake the lead at 21-20, but Park found its proverbial footing again and reached set point at 24-22.

A kill by Figy and a setting mishap brought the Statesmen back into a tie, but they had to fight off one more set point before taking control, eventually capturing the win on a block by Figy and Pedroso.

After the opening three sets were each decided by the smallest possible margin, many in the Penn Activity Center were ready for another heart-racing round, but the Statesmen had other plans.  WPU scored three of the first four points and never trailed.  Four unanswered points stretched the advantage and the navy and gold were not threatened on their way to their highest-ranked triumph of the campaign.  Papes notched back-to-back kills to complete the win; the senior finished with nine kills on the night.

Landon Krause (Sr., Appleton, Wis., Business Management) was the home team's offensive hero with 16 kills, while the duo of Zavala and Britten Beallis (So., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) each tallied 11 winners.  Beallis did not commit an error in 13 hitting attempts to finish with a jaw-dropping .846 clip.

Figy also joined the double-double club with 10 kills.

Pedroso assisted on 47 offensive winners, while Krause and Anthony Torres (Sr., Aurora, Ill., Computer Science) both recorded two aces.

Defensively, Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Fr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) had a team-high nine digs, while Beallis headlined the defensive net presence with one solo block and four block assists.  Beallis was one of six individuals to tally multiple blocks.

"This was a big-time win in front of a great crowd," Head Coach Luke Bentley said.  "I am proud of our group and how hard they worked to get the win.  This group's resiliency was on display once again tonight."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Des Moines Friday to face Grand View in Heart play at 7 p.m.