Oskaloosa–The Statesmen volleyball squad made easy work of Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) Tuesday to collect its first victory of the young season, winning 3-0 in non-conference action.

WPU (1-4), which won by scores of 25-15, 25-17, 25-17, narrowly outhit the Trojans (0-1) by a margin of .069-.062.

The navy and gold kept the visitors in its rearview nearly all match, though, by posting 13 aces and being the recipient of 12 H-LG service errors; overall, the team was a combined +19 at the service line.

The Statesmen faced just one deficit all night, at 2-1 in the opening set.  With the score still tied at four, William Penn tallied six straight and was never threatened in taking the 1-0 advantage.

Claire Simmons (So., Williamsburg, Iowa, Psychology) recorded four of her six aces in the first set; she also managed six kills in the victory.

The hosts rolled through the second round and despite leading only 18-16 late in the final set, finished strong to post the sweep.

Nesreen Iskandrani (Fr., Lawrence, Kan., History/Government) and Shawni Wills (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) both matched Simmons with six kills apiece, while Wills also had a pair of block assists.

Kathleen Steffen (So., Vinton, Iowa, Biology) assisted on 12 winners and served up four more points, while Haley Smith (So., Adrian, Mich., Elementary Education) added nine assists.

Defensively, Ashley Miller (So., Kalona, Iowa, Exercise Science) contributed 14 digs and Lilly Martinez (Jr., Oakland, Calif., Psychology) recorded two solo blocks.

“This was a good win tonight,” Head Coach Jennifer Carlson said.  “The energy was great on the floor and in the gym from our fans.  The ladies executed and got the job done.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Forest City this weekend to compete in the Waldorf Tournament.  On Friday, the Statesmen play Sterling (Kan.) at 4 p.m. and host Waldorf at8 p.m.  On Saturday, WPU faces Central Methodist (Mo.) at 11:30 a.m. and Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) at 1:30 p.m.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

The Mahaska Zone Network has announced an adjusted schedule for the Game of the Week in 2016.

In Week 2, the featured game will be PCM at Montezuma. In Week 3, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont will travel to face Chariton (online only).

Also in Week 7, the game featured on the stream only on kboeradio.com will be Centerville at Albia.

After the adjustments, here is the full Game of the Week schedule:

9/2 – PCM at Montezuma

9/9 – Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at Chariton (stream only)

9/16 – Tri-County at Twin Cedars

9/23 – New London at North Mahaska

9/30 – Lynnville-Sully at Pekin

10/7 – Centerville at Albia (stream only)

10/14 – Cardinal at Montezuma

10/21 – Open date for a matchup with playoff implications

You can see the Game of the Week on kboeradio.com and on the kboeradio YouTube channel. The games can also be heard on 104.9 FM KBOE except the two weeks listed as “stream only.” You can hear and see everything on the KBOE mobile app as well.

Start times for these games is roughly 7 PM, with the pregame starting at 6:30 PM.

Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s soccer team did not pepper the opposing goal with many shots, but the ones that were taken were right on target as William Penn defeated Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 4-1 in non-conference action Tuesday.

While WPU (1-1) was outshot 23-5, that stat is deceiving as play was quite even throughout.  The navy and gold obviously took advantage of those limited opportunities, including a goal just 2:07 into the afternoon.

Anfernee Houston (Fr., Harrisburg, Ill., Kinesiology), who was making his collegiate debut, drove home a pass from Bill Baye (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn., Physical Education) for the day’s first score.

The Trojans (0-1-1) evened things up in the 32nd minute, but just over four minutes later Houston hooked up with Nenad Markovic (So., Belgrade, Serbia) to give the hosts the lead for good.

Houston tacked on another goal (assist to Markovic) in the 49th minute, and Markovic capped the scoring at the 85:04 mark.  Jeremy Esparza (Sr., Evergreen Park, Ill., Pre-Law) collected the assist on the fourth goal.

Emannuel Esparza (So., Posen, Ill., Physical Education (K-12)) faced 17 shots in the second half, but most were off-line or blocked by a Statesmen defenseman.  The sophomore recorded seven saves in the victory.

“Our guys earned a well-deserved victory today,” Head Coach Jaymee Highcock said.  “We looked very fast and powerful on the counter attack and it was good to see what we have been learning in practice has come out in a game.  Defensively, we were intense and solid.  This team is very capable of scoring goals, so I am looking forward to when everything comes together.”

“Manny played a terrific game in goal and it was good for the subs to make a good impact as well,” Highcock added.  “A big thank you to all the sports programs and coaches for coming to support us.  We look forward to getting on the road and hopefully bringing back some good results.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to South Bend, Ind. this weekend to compete in the Goshen Tournament.  On Friday, the Statesmen face Goshen (Ind.) at 5 p.m., while on Saturday, WPU takes on Holy Cross (Ind.) at 3 p.m.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage