Statesmen Sweep Dordt in Heart Conference Action

Oskaloosa--The No. 10 William Penn men's volleyball team added another sweep to its résumé Friday night, defeating Dordt 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play inside the Penn Activity Center.

William Penn (11-5, 7-4 Heart) secured the straight-set victory over the Defenders (17-7, 7-5 Heart) with scores of 25-14, 25-19, and 25-24. The Statesmen hit .314, .361, and .293 across the three sets, while Dordt finished with attack percentages of .030, .206, and .114.

The opening set began with William Penn holding a slim 7-4 advantage before the Statesmen rattled off five consecutive points to extend the lead. After a brief exchange of points, the Navy and Gold produced another surge, outscoring Dordt 7-2 to take control. William Penn quickly reached set point and closed out the frame with a 25-14 win.

The second set started tightly as Dordt claimed an early 4-3 lead. William Penn responded by evening the score at 7-7 before erupting for a 10-2 run to seize momentum. The Defenders attempted a comeback with a 5-1 stretch that trimmed the deficit to 18-14, but the teams traded points down the stretch, and the Statesmen secured the 25-19 victory.

Dordt carried early momentum in the third set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead. William Penn gradually chipped away at the deficit and, trailing 15-11, produced a 5-1 run to even the score at 16-16. After several point exchanges, the Statesmen strung together four unanswered points to take a 24-21 lead. Dordt answered with three clutch points to tie the match at 24-24, but William Penn responded with back-to-back points to clinch the set and complete the sweep.

Statistically, the Statesmen finished with a 47-37 edge in kills and committed just 11 attack errors compared to 24 for Dordt. William Penn posted a .321 team attack percentage, while the Defenders finished at .117. The Statesmen struggled at the service line with eight errors and two aces, while Dordt recorded two service errors and one ace.

Tommy Fellows (So., Shorewood, Ill., Exercise Science) led the offense with 14 kills, while Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Sr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) added 13 kills with an impressive .542 attack percentage. Emilio Spanner (Sr., Sint Eustatius, Sports Management) contributed nine kills.

Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) directed the offense with 33 assists. Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Jr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) anchored the defense with 15 digs, while Cemeno-Castillo and Zell each recorded nine.

At the net, William Penn totaled 10 blocks compared to seven for Dordt. Spanner finished with six block assists and one solo block, while Ben Brinkman (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) added four block assists. Britten Beallis (Sr., Naperville, Ill., Sports Management) chipped in three block assists and one solo block.

"I thought the guys played really well today. I thought it was a good win. The sweep feels sweet, but more so how we played," Head Coach Luke Bentley said. "We played well, and we held a lot of their attacks. They pushed us at the end, and we responded. I feel pretty pleased about the result."

Next Up: William Penn returns to action Saturday when it hosts Morningside in Heart conference play at 1 p.m. in the Penn Activity Center.