Statesmen Open Homecoming Weekend with Sweep of Missouri Valley

Oskaloosa--The William Penn women's volleyball team claimed one of its biggest wins of the year Friday as it swept Missouri Valley 3-0 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.

WPU (16-13, 6-7 Heart) won by scores of 25-20, 25-18, 25-22.  Entering the night, the navy and gold were on the outside looking in for the Heart Tournament, but catapulted themselves into a spot (with five matches left) by defeating the Vikings (14-12, 6-7 Heart).

The hosts, who outhit MVC .246-.124, dropped the first four points of the evening (five of the first six), but never lost sight of their foe.  Still down 12-10, William Penn rattled off five points in a row, including back-to-back aces by Emalee Young (So., O'Fallon, Mo., Nursing) .

MVC managed to draw even a few times, but at 19-19, the Statesmen pulled away with five unanswered, highlighted by consecutive kills from Alyvia Johnson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management).  The senior had seven of her match-high 17 kills in the opening set.

Another slow start (behind 3-0) did not bother WPU in the second round.  The home crew responded with three of their own, while a 10-3 run a bit later gave them the lead for good.

The Statesmen looked to close the night early and easily with the first five points of the third, but the Vikings had other thoughts.  William Penn actually cruised out to a 13-3 advantage before Missouri Valley produced one final charge.  Runs of 7-1, 6-2, and 5-2 eventually got the visitors on the doorstep at 23-22 (in favor of WPU), but the Statesmen, who held a 10-4 edge in blocks, finished the contest with two more.  Johnson had a part in both denials as she managed four on Friday.

Patricia De Souza (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management), who partnered with Johnson on the final block, guided WPU at the defensive net with two solo blocks and three block assists.

Johnson notched a double-double as she complemented her kill tally with 12 digs.  The back row stars, however, were Kaya Caprini (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology) and Katlyn Jeter (Sr., Solon, Iowa, Business Management), with 27 and 26 digs, respectively.

Jeter narrowly missed her own double-double as she accumulated nine kills, while Jade Melton (Hallsville, Mo., Psychology) was next with seven winners.  Khiani Jackson (Jr., St. Joseph, Mo., Psychology) contributed six, while the duo of De Souza and Cate Hahn (Sr., St. Charles, Mo., Biology) finished with five apiece.

Lydia Huston (Jr., Kansas City, Mo., Biology) (21 assists) and Young (19) were the floor generals, while Mia Brady (Jr., Pontiac, Ill., Exercise Science) came off the bench to lead the serving game with three aces.  Overall, WPU and MVC had six aces each.

"This was a great start to our Homecoming week and our last home weekend," Head Coach Lauren Eldridge said.  "It always feels good to get a clean sweep.  We had a great offensive night, while also passing well in serve receive."

Next Up: William Penn remains in Oskaloosa Saturday to host Central Methodist in Heart play at 6:30 p.m.