Statesmen Grind Out Road Sweep Over Clarke

Dubuque--The No. 10 William Penn men's volleyball team delivered another strong performance on the road, earning a 3-0 sweep over Clarke in Heart of America Athletic Conference action Tuesday.

William Penn (13-5, 9-4 Heart) secured the straight-set victory over the Pride (15-16, 2-11 Heart) with scores of 25-19, 25-23, and 25-23. The Statesmen recorded set attack percentages of .242, .143, and .074, while Clarke posted marks of .120, .160, and .097.

The opening set saw the Statesmen take control early, building a 12-6 advantage. They extended the lead to 19-10 before Clarke responded with an 8-2 run to trim the deficit to three. William Penn halted the momentum with a decisive 5-1 run to close out the set.

Clarke opened the second set with the first three points, but the Statesmen answered with an 8-3 surge. The teams traded points throughout the middle portion, with Clarke evening the score at 10-10. William Penn trailed 22-20 late before rallying with a 5-1 run to secure the 25-23 win.

In the third set, WPU held a narrow 8-6 lead before Clarke briefly moved ahead 10-9. Both teams exchanged 4-1 runs in a tightly contested battle. The Statesmen used a key 5-1 stretch to take a 22-19 advantage, but the Pride responded with a 4-1 run to tie the set. The Navy and Gold closed the match with the final two points to complete the sweep.

Statistically, the Statesmen edged Clarke 34-33 in kills. William Penn committed 18 attack errors compared to 19 by CU, finishing with a .157 team attack percentage, while Clarke followed at .143.

Both teams struggled from the service line. The Statesmen held a 4-1 edge in service aces, while Clarke finished with a 17-13 disadvantage in service errors.

Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Sr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) led the offense with 13 kills. Tommy Fellows (So., Shorewood, Ill., Exercise Science) added seven kills, while Emilio Spanner (Sr., Sint Eustatius, Sports Management) and Ben Brinkman (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) contributed six and five, respectively.

Brady Zell (So., Wales, Wis., Business Management) orchestrated the attack with 26 assists. Defensively, Joao Gabriel Filippelli (Jr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) and Cemeno-Castillo anchored the back row with seven digs apiece.

At the net, William Penn recorded six blocks compared to 12 for Clarke. Brinkman led the effort with four block assists, while Spanner added three block assists.

"Great road win for us," Head Coach Luke Bentley said. "Ready to get back to work and prepare for this weekend."

Next Up: The Statesmen return home to host Missouri Baptist Friday at 7:00 p.m. in a Heart matchup at the Penn Activity Center.