Statesmen Fall to No. 5 Missouri Valley in Top-10 Matchup

Marshall, Mo.--The No. 6 William Penn men's volleyball team dropped a three-set match to No. 5 Missouri Valley Friday in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

William Penn (8-4, 5-3 Heart) fell to the Vikings (12-1, 6-1 Heart) by set scores of 18-25, 22-25, and 21-25. The Statesmen posted attack percentages of -.038, .258, and .133, while Missouri Valley hit .217, .179, and .429 in the respective frames.

The Navy and Gold faced an early 10-5 deficit in the opening set before Missouri Valley extended its advantage to 17-12. William Penn attempted to rally late but could not close the gap as the Vikings secured the 25-18 win.

The Statesmen opened the second set strong, building a 6-3 lead before Missouri Valley tied the score at 8-8. William Penn responded with a 4-1 run and maintained a three-point advantage until the Vikings surged with an 8-1 run to take a 21-17 edge. The Statesmen answered with four straight points to even the score, but Missouri Valley closed the frame with a 4-1 stretch to claim the set.

The final set remained tight early with MVC holding a narrow 10-9 lead. The Vikings then used a 7-1 run to gain separation. William Penn mounted a late push with a 9-3 streak, but Missouri Valley secured the match point to finish the sweep.

Statistically, the Statesmen held a slight 37-35 advantage in kills but were hindered by a 26-16 margin in attack errors. William Penn also struggled at the service line with nine service errors and one ace, while Missouri Valley totaled four aces with six errors.

Emilio Spanner (Sr., Sint Eustatius, Sports Management) led the Statesmen with 11 kills, while Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Sr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) followed with 10. Britten Beallis (Sr., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) added nine kills and posted a .429 attack percentage.

Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) dished out 33 assists, while Cemeno-Castillo led the defense with five digs.

At the net, Ben Brinkman (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) recorded two solo blocks and one block assist.

Next Up: William Penn travels to face Culver–Stockton Saturday in Canton, Missouri at 1 p.m. in Heart play.