Statesmen Fall in Five Against Benedictine

Oskaloosa-- The William Penn University women's volleyball team returned home Friday, falling in a tightly contested five-set Heart of America Athletic Conference match to Benedictine, 3-2.

WPU (14-12, 4-7 Heart), which fell by scores of 25-22, 24-26, 16-25, 25-17, 11-15, was outhit .199-.190 against Benedictine (10-7, 6-2 Heart).

Set one was a back-and-forth battle as the teams split the first 32 points. The Statesmen built their largest lead at three and held on to secure a 1-0 advantage on a kill from Hailee Pesek (So., New Hampton, Iowa, Nursing).

The second set was another nail-biter, with neither side gaining much separation as the score sat tied at 11-11, 18-18, and 24-24. In extra points, Benedictine evened the match, 1-1, on a closing service ace.

Riding the momentum into set three, Benedictine opened with a 4-0 run and never looked back. William Penn tried to close the gap, cutting it to 8-4, but the Ravens responded with seven straight points. From there, the Statesmen had no answers as Benedictine cruised to a 25-16 win.

Benedictine carried its momentum into the fourth set, taking a narrow 9-7 lead. William Penn, however, wasn't about to let the Ravens leave Oskaloosa easily. The Statesmen seized control with a 12-2 run to go up 16-11, and four late kills from Maju Vieira (Jr., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Business Management) sealed the set, tying the match at 2-2.

The decisive fifth set was tight throughout, with the largest margin being just four points. Benedictine struck first and picked up the wire-to-wire victory, closing out the match with a 15-11 win. 

Vieira anchored the Statesmen with a double-double, finishing with 20 kills and 10 digs.

Abigail Mitchell (Jr., Oxford, Ala., Nursing) added 12 kills, while Khiani Jackson (Sr., St. Joseph, Mo., Psychology) was close behind with 10.

Kaya Caprini (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Psychology and Human Services) led the Statesmen defense with 20 digs, followed by Mia Brady (Sr., Pontiac, Ill., Exercise Science) with 11 and Emalee Young (Jr., O'Fallon, Mo., Nursing) with eight.

Brady and Young also combined for 45 assists, with Brady dishing out 31 and Young adding 14.

Up Next: William Penn stays at home to take on Baker, Saturday in Heart action at 11 a.m.