WPU on Short End Against William Woods

Oskaloosa-- The William Penn women's volleyball hosted William Woods on Friday, but came up short in a 3-1 Heart of America Athletic Conference loss.

WPU (13-8, 3-3 Heart) which fell by scores of 25-21, 12-25, 19-25, 20-25, was outhit .323-.124 by William Woods (12-3, 5-1 Heart). 

William Woods struck first in set one, but the Statesmen quickly responded with a four-point run to seize the early momentum. Exciting rallies and high-effort plays kept William Penn in control, holding leads of 7-3, 14-10, and 17-13—four seemed to be the magic number for the navy and gold. Late in the set, WWU trimmed the deficit to 21-20, but the Statesmen answered just as they had all set long, rebuilding a four-point cushion. A William Woods error sealed the opener, giving William Penn a 1-0 lead.

William Woods took the set one loss personally, opening the second with five straight points. WPU Head Coach Lauren Eldridge was forced to call a timeout, but the Statesmen still had no answers for the Owls' attack. Trailing 11-6, freshman Alix Robinson (Pontiac, Ill., Political Science and History) tried to swing the momentum with a forceful kill, but William Woods responded with a 9-3 run to push the score to 20-10. From there, the Owls cruised to the finish, taking the second set 25-12.

With the match tied at one apiece, William Penn made sure not to let WWU grab the early lead it had in the previous set. The two teams traded the first 10 points, but the Owls then went on a 3-0 run and held a steady cushion until late in the frame. WPU closed the gap to 19-17, but WWU responded with a decisive five-point run. The Statesmen made one last-ditch push, but the Owls held firm to take set three.

WPU grabbed an early 3-2 lead, but it would be the last time the Statesmen held the advantage. William Woods responded by taking a 9-7 edge and extending it to 15-11, prompting a William Penn timeout. The pause only briefly slowed the Owls, who scored immediately out of the break and never looked back. The late deficit proved too much to overcome, as WWU maintained control the rest of the way to close out the match in four sets.

Maju Vieira (Jr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) was the standout for the Statesmen, recording a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.

Both Emilie Bojorquez-McFadden (Jr., Surprise, Ariz., Biology) and Haliee Pesek (So., New Hampton, Iowa, Nursing) finished with eight digs.

Kaya Caprini (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology and Human Services) led the Statesmen defense with 17 digs.

Mia Brady (Sr., Pontiac, Ill., Exercise Science) dished out 21 assists to go with seven digs.

Up Next: William Penn hosts Missouri Baptist Saturday for WPU's Family Weekend in Heart action at 11 a.m.