Statesmen Qualify for First-Ever National Tournament

Men’s Volleyball | Mon, Apr. 4, 2022

Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s volleyball team took the express lane in its rise to prominence as it has qualified for the NAIA National Championship.

In just its third year of existence, WPU (23-7, 14-4 Heart) earned an at-large bid to the 12-team national tourney, which will be held at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in West Des Moines from April 12-16.

The Statesmen are the #5 overall seed and will paired with #4 seed Vanguard (Calif.) and #12 seed Campbellsville (Ky.) in Pool D.  The Statesmen will face Campbellsville Wednesday at 4 p.m. and then meet Vanguard Thursday at 4 p.m.  The winners of the four pools will then advance to Friday’s semifinal round.  The national championship match is set for Saturday, April 16 at 5 p.m.

William Penn earned one of the four at-large berths with a breakout season that witnessed the navy and gold finish second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season standings, reach the Heart Championship Finals, and be ranked as high as #2.  The Statesmen, who are currently ranked #6, defeated seven ranked foes.  WPU is 4-3 against squads in this year’s Championship field.

Grand View is the top seed in Pool A, Ottawa (Ariz.) is first in Pool B, and Indiana Tech is #1 in Pool C.

Fans can watch the games (pay-per-view) by clicking HERE

William Penn will also provide a FREE audio broadcast of all matches HERE

William Penn

The Statesmen, coached by Luke Bentley in his third year (39-39 record entering nationals), are making their first trip to nationals.

William Penn, which owned a nine-match winning streak at one point, is 4-2 in its last six games.  Ike Papes, Landon Krause, and Charlie Figy were all first-team all-Heart performers.  Papes leads the team with 374 kills, while the navy and gold are outhitting their opposition .311-.165.

Vanguard

The Lions, who own a 16-6 record (9-1 GSAC), are coached by Brad Rostratter in his third year (38-18 entering nationals).  VU, which earned an at-large bid, is making its second trip to nationals.

The #1 team in the NAIA at one point this year, Vanguard was the top seed in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament, but had its seven-match winning streak snapped in the semifinals.  A tested squad, VU has nine wins over ranked opponents, while four of its losses have come against NCAA Division I programs.

The Lions, who have four all-GSAC performers, are led by Kyle Anema with 255 kills.  Vanguard is outhitting its…