SPRINGFIELD, MO — The Statesmen women’s volleyball team concluded its weekend trip to the Show Me State with a 3-0 setback to Evangel in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.
WPU (11-12, 7-5 Heart), which lost by scores of 17-25, 22-25, 20-25, also lost the hitting battle .255-.106. The visiting crew actually owned a 39-38 edge in kills, but 27 errors (just 12 for EU) were too much to overcome.
The navy and gold battled with the Valor (13-11, 6-5 Heart) for most of the first set and were within two at 19-17, but permitted six unanswered points to fall behind 1-0 in the match.
It was a similar script in the second round with the visitors pulling even at 18-18. Unfortunately, William Penn lost the next five points. The Statesmen rallied to within two, however, but it was not enough as the Valor grabbed a 2-0 edge.
The third and final set was also tight early at 6-6, but EU produced another big run and cruised to the sweep.
One of the best blocking teams in the league, the Statesmen struggled to make their presence felt as they posted just four blocks (12 for Evangel). The trio of Alyssa Young (Sr., Winter Springs, Fla., Biology), Andressa Borges (So., Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sports Management), and Corrin Lepper (Sr., Jefferson City, Mo., Biology) were each of a part of two blocks Saturday.
Young was WPU’s best attacker as well with nine kills on a .227 clip, while Alyvia Johnson (So., Owatonna, Minn., Business Management) was next with eight winners. Lepper, with seven kills, Borges, with six, and Riley Hungate (Fr., Joliet, Ill., Business Management), with five, also contributed to William Penn’s offensive numbers.
Macy Bailey (Sr., Bondurant, Iowa, Business Management) (17 assists) and Chyanne Bradford (Fr., Rowlett, Texas, Education) (16 assists) did most of the setting for the navy and gold, while Cecily Liphardt (Sr., Lincoln, Neb., Psychology and Business Management) paced the back row with 13 digs.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids next Tuesday to take on Mount Mercy in Heart action at 7 p.m.
