Statesmen Conclude Third Campaign Against Vanguard

Men’s Volleyball | Thu, Apr. 14, 2022

West Des Moines, Iowa–The William Penn men’s volleyball team won a set at the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in program history, but ultimately fell to the Vanguard Lions in four sets. The Statesmen finish their third season with an overall record of 23-9.

WPU had trouble out of the gates, falling quickly behind the Lions 7-1 in the opening set. They cut into the lead as the set went on, but still trailed 22-17 late in the set. Three straight points forced a Vanguard timeout, and a kill from Ike Papes (Jr., Elwood, Ill., Business Management) evened the score at 24. The navy and gold captured the next two points to clinch the opening frame, 26-24.

Vanguard took another early lead in the second, but the score remained much closer as WPU tied it early at 8-8. After trading points, the Lions used a four point run to take a 15-11 lead and force a timeout from the Statesmen. They took the first point out of the stoppage, but were unable to slow Vanguard’s momentum as they took set two by a score of 25-18.

After allowing early leads in each of the first two sets, the navy and gold got off to a hot start in the third, forcing an early timeout after leading 10-5. The timeout served the Lions well, as they went on an 8-3 run to even the score at 13. William Penn called a timeout of their own, but Vanguard continued their surge en route to a second straight 25-18 victory.

For the second time in the match, Vanguard jumped out to a 7-1 lead to begin a set. This time, unfortunately, the Statesmen never found their footing. They closed the deficit to as little as four, but ultimately dropped the fourth set 25-17.

Landon Krause (So., Appleton, Wis., Sports Management) led the Statesmen with 20 kills, hitting .457 in the match. Krause also finished second on the team with seven digs. Papes finished behind Krause with 10 kills. Connor Muff (Sr., Kenosha, Wis., Business Management) assisted in 35 of the team’s 40 kills, while Carlos Garcia (Jr., Laredo, Texas, Nursing) assisted the other five. Garcia also led with eight digs.

“What a year for William Penn men’s volleyball,” said Head Coach Luke Bentley. “All I can say is I’m proud of our program and players. The future is bright.”