Vikings Drop One to William Penn, Meyer Leads the Team With 21 Assists

Men’s Volleyball | Sun, Feb. 19, 2023 at 8:50 AM

Des Moines, IA- After some inclement weather hit the area on Thursday the Vikings were able to compete in their rivalry game against William Penn on Friday Night. After a tough fight, the Vikings eventually fell to the Statesmen in three sets 25-18, 25-14, and 25-23. 

Set 1: Grand View University 18 | William Penn University 25

Daniel Wong (SR/Campbell, CA ) provided a spark for the Vikings as he picked up the first 2 kills for the Vikings along with an ace to help jump out to an early lead, 5-3.  Zeo Meyer (JR/Wheaton, IL ) added a pair of kills before assisting Nicolas Vattier (SO/Santiago, Chile) on his first kill of the game. After a short Statesmen run the Vikings took a timeout to compose themselves and help lead to a Bayron Valdez (JR/Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) ace. Wong and Meyer would both add kills towards the end of the first set to try and give the Vikings a spark, along with a combined block from Wong and Gioele Iacono (SO/Milan, Italy ). But it was too little too late as the Vikings dropped the first set 25-18. 

Set 2: Grand View University 14 | William Penn University 25

The second set was started by a Valdez kill assisted by Meyer. Followed shortly by another Wong kill assisted by Meyer. After a few Vikings errors, Grand View took a timeout to reset, afterwards, Nickolas Lima (FR/Curitiba, Brazil ) was able to add on a kill. Wong and Valdez were able to add on additional kills to try and slow the Statesmen’s run before taking a second timeout. The Vikings put together a run of their own to cut the lead down to six, but it wasn’t enough as they lost set two, 25-14. 

Set 3: Grand View University 23 | William Penn University 25

The third set started out with a defensive stand from the Vikings as Vattier led the way with combined blocks with Valdez and Iacono. And after another short William Penn run the Vikings got back on track with a run of their own with kills from Lima, Meyer, and Wong. The Vikings traded points with the Statesmen for a while before a handful of William Penn errors and a Valdez Kill brought the Vikings within one point forcing a William Penn timeout. A Wong kill after the timeout gave the Vikings a chance late, but they were not able to close out the third set, William Penn wins the third set, 25-23. -€‹

Key Players…

Daniel Wong led the way for Grand View with 9 kills along with one ace and 4 block assists. Followed…