Men's Volleyball Defeated in Fourth Set to the No.9 Statesmen

Lamoni, Iowa – The Graceland University Men's Volleyball took on the No. 9 William Penn Statesmen and were defeated in the fourth set, 3-1. The Yellowjackets move to 4-11 on the season and 2-9 in conference play.

Graceland (4-11; 2-9) vs. William Penn (11-5; 10-3)
Set 1: Graceland 17 | William Penn 25
The Statesmen were able to create an early lead by three (5-8). The run would be stopped from the kill by Isaac Elliott, followed by a Nicodemus Elliott ace (6-8). The Statesmen would retaliate with a score jump to lead by nine (9-18). A kill from Rylon Raczka would push Graceland to close the gap to six points (14-20); kills from Jackson Price and Jeremiah Ta'amu and blocks from Will Simmers and N. Elliott would contribute. William Penn snatched five of the remaining nine for the set.
Set 2: Graceland 15 | William Penn 25
The Yellowjackets came out on fire to pull ahead by four points early (8-4), with kills from Jeremiah Ta'amu and Nicodemus Elliott and blocks from blocks by Will Simmers and Isaac Elliott. William Penn would trail behind and slowly close their deficit; a Statesmen kill would even the score (13-13). William Penn would push and take the remaining points for the set.
Set 3: Graceland 32 | William Penn 30
Both teams came out and traded points. The Statesmen created the first lead (9-13). The Yellowjackets would retaliate with a 3-0 run to close the gap to one (15-16); an ace from Rylon Raczka and a kill from Jeremiah Ta'amu would add to the run. Both teams would trade the lead and even the score. A kill by Sonny Tofi would give the Yellowjackets the lead by one (31-30). Ta'amu and Will Simmers would block the Statesmen's attack for the final point.
Set 4: Graceland 23 | William Penn 25
Both teams came out with the same groove putting up point for point. William Penn would pull ahead by two points; a Statesmen service error would close the gap to one, and key blocks by Jackson Price, Jeremiah Ta'amu, and Rylon Raczka would help even the score (12-12). The Statesmen would go for a 3-0 scoring run, broken by a kill from Sonny Tofi (19-19). William Penn would snatch the remaining two points for the victory.

Graceland Leaders-
DIGS: Logan Book – 11
KILLS: Rylon Raczka – 10
ASSISTS: Josh Santana – 20
SERVICE ACES: Nicodemus Elliott / Rylon Raczka / Sean Malaki – 1
BLOCKS: Will Simmers – 7

William Penn Leaders-
DIGS: Carlos Garcia – 18
KILLS: Ike Papes – 20
ASSISTS: Matt Helmick – 56
SERVICE ACES: Landon Krause – 2
BLOCKS: Charlie Figy / Ike Papes – 2

Up Next:
The Yellowjackets will be back on the road on Tuesday, March 7 when they take on the Grand View University Vikings. Game time is set for 7:00 pm.

-Yellowjackets-