William Penn Sweeps Bobcats on Road

Peru, Neb.--Andressa Borges (So., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management) and Alyssa Young (Sr., Winter Springs, Fla., Biology) both reached double figures in kills as the Statesmen women's volleyball team swept Peru State 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Tuesday.

WPU (11-10, 7-4 Heart), which won by scores of 25-22, 25-23, 25-20, recorded a .225-.173 attacking advantage and dominated the defensive net with a 13-2 edge in blocks. The visitors overcame seven aces by Peru State (6-13, 3-6 Heart), while only tallying three themselves.

Both teams hit well in the opening set with WPU owning a better mark at .308 (16 kills against just four errors). The navy and gold committed an error on the first play, but then caught fire with 10 unanswered.

William Penn continued to have a double-digit lead at 19-9, but PSC fought back to close within three on several occasions. With the visitors up just two at 24-22, a kill by Corrin Lepper (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Biology) finally put the hosts away for a 1-0 advantage.

Peru State once again picked up the first point in the second set, but the Statesmen again took control after that. In a set where each crew's hitting percentages dipped, WPU failed to put its foe away until the very end. Knotted at 23-23, Young and Borges delivered winners and the Statesmen were up 2-0.

The defenses stiffened even more in the third, which led to another tight round. Ten ties ensued with the last occurring at 19-19. A Young kill was followed by one from Alyvia Johnson (So., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) before back-to-back blocks put the set on ice. As she did in the first set, Lepper wrapped up the evening with a kill, one of seven for her in Nebraska Tuesday.

Lepper produced a team-best seven kills without an error, but it was Young (just one error) and Borges (only two mistakes) that guided the Statesmen offense with 10 kills each.

Riley Hungate (Fr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) contributed eight winners, and Johnson was good for five more.

Macy Bailey (Sr., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management) came off the bench and narrowly missed a double-double with 23 assists and eight digs.

Johnson and Cecily Liphardt (Sr., Lincoln, Neb., Psychology and Business Management) were WPU's top back-row players with 13 digs apiece, while the trio of Borges, Lepper, and Young all provided heavily patrol of the defensive net. Borges (one solo, six assists) and Lepper (three solos, four assists) were both part of seven blocks, while Young assisted on five stops.

"It is nice to get a conference sweep on the road," Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said. "We started off really strong, but then got a little complacent. Fortunately, our offense was able to finish the first set and we scored points when needed all night. We also struggled a little with serve reception, but figured it out to allow our setters to set all of the options. We had another great blocking performance as well."

"I have said it time and time again that it is tough to win on the road in this conference, so I am very happy with tonight's result, especially with a sweep," Eldridge said.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Columbia, Mo. Friday to face Columbia in non-conference action at 5 p.m.