Statesmen Fall to No. 10 Mount Mercy in Conference Quarterfinals

Cedar Rapids--The William Penn men's volleyball team saw its season come to a close Saturday afternoon, falling 3-1 to nationally ranked Mount Mercy in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Quarterfinals.

The Statesmen (16-11) battled but ultimately fell to the No. 10 Mustangs (22-5) in four sets: 18-25, 26-24, 20-25, 13-25.

Mount Mercy established early control in the first set, breaking an 8-7 lead with a 7-1 run. William Penn showed some resistance, but a late 5-2 Mustang push sealed the opener.

The second set saw the Statesmen claw back from a 20-15 deficit with an impressive 9-2 run to take a 24-22 lead. After fending off Mount Mercy's comeback attempt, WPU closed the set 26-24 to even the match at one apiece.

William Penn held a narrow 14-12 lead midway through the third set, but the Mustangs responded with a decisive 13-6 run to regain the advantage.

Mount Mercy controlled the fourth set from the start, opening with a 13-5 lead. The Statesmen were unable to generate enough momentum to threaten the Mustangs, who sealed the match with a 25-13 final frame.

The Mustangs outhit the Statesmen with a 50-37 kill margin and a .203 hitting percentage compared to WPU's .054 clip. Both teams struggled with attack errors, as the Statesmen committed 30 to Mount Mercy's 23. Service errors also plagued both sides, with WPU tallying 12 and MMU 13.

Ben Cemeno-Castillo (Jr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management) paced the Statesmen with 13 kills, followed by Josh Bluhm (Fr., Lockport, Ill., Software Engineering) with nine and Ben Brinkman (Fr., Appleton, Wis., Undecided) with seven.

Brady Zell (Fr., Wales, Wis., Business Management) directed the offense with 31 assists and tied João Gabriel Filippelli (So., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) for the team lead with 12 digs. Cemeno-Castillo and Tommy Fellows (Fr., Shorewood, Ill., Exercise Science) added eight and seven digs, respectively.

Defensively, the Statesmen totaled 13 blocks. Brinkman stood out at the net with one solo and eight block assists, while Bluhm and Cemeno-Castillo each chipped in with five block assists.

"Bittersweet moment to sit here and reflect on our 2025 season and think about the seniors that will be departing us," said Head Coach Luke Bentley. "The sadness comes from the end of a good run for a few guys but the excitement is tied to the large majority of players returning and the potential it will bring moving forward. The future is bright for Statesmen MVB."