GAME DAY LINKS --Â
McKENDREE at LINDENWOOD -- Wednesday, April 1, 2015 -- 7 p.m., St. Charles, Mo.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
LINDENWOOD SEASON STATISTICS
McKENDREE at QUINCY -- Thursday, April 2, 2015 -- 7 p.m., Quincy, Ill.
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
QUINCY SEASON STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., April 1)--The McKendree University men's volleyball team returns to the court after more than a week away from action with a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) road contests. The Bearcats will make the short trip to St. Charles, Mo., for a Wednesday match against Lindenwood University before heading to Quincy University on Thursday to wrap up the week. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.
McKendree brings an 11-14 overall record and a 1-10 league mark into Wednesday's play. The team has not played since a non-conference sweep of Fontbonne University back on March 23 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats are still in contention for a MIVA post-season berth but need victories against their two foes this week to strengthen their chances. McKendree will play its final five games of the 2015 regular season against MIVA competition, with their final home game set for April 11 against Ball State University. McKendree has the same amount of kills as its opponents (1,049) through 25 matches. Freshman opposite
Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) still leads the squad with 258 kills, a figure that ranks fourth among all MIVA players. Wilcox has also served up a team-best 26 aces heading into Wednesday's action. Sophomore middle blocker
Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) in second on the team with 201 attacks, while his kill percentage of .489 leads all conference players.
Freshmen setters
Ian Zalewski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) (472) and
Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) (446) continue to lead the Bearcats in assists and have combined to help the squad rank third in the MIVA in the category. At the net, freshman middle blocker
Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) is tied for second in the league with 98 blocks. The back row is anchored by freshman outside hitter
Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington), who has 125 digs. Sophomore libero
Brice Miller (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) has helped out with 92 digs.Â
ABOUT LINDENWOODThe Lions enter Wednesday's match with a 10-8 season record, while they are 5-6 in the MIVA. Lindenwood traveled to Arizona last weekend, where it claimed a pair of conference victories against Grand Canyon University. Senior opposite Colin Hackworth has put down a team-high 245 kills for the Lions, and his 3.71 kills per set ranks third in the conference. Hackworth also tops all MIVA players with 40 service aces and 0.61 aces per set. Senior outside hitter Kyle Overby has put down 171 attacks, while sophomore outside hitter Jake Duckworth -- brother of McKendree assistant coach
Ben Duckworth -- is close behind with 156 kills. Assists for the Lions have been split between senior setter Connor Metcalfe (351) and junior setter Roman Seghezzi (304).Â
Up front, senior middle blocker Logan Jarus has registered 61 blocks, including 10 solos, while Hackworth has contributed 49 blocks to date. Overby and Duckworth are currently tied for the team lead in digs with 83, while Metcalfe ranks third with 73.
Wednesday's contest will be the second meeting of the season between McKendree and Lindenwood. Back on Feb. 4 in Lebanon, the visiting Lions posted a four-set victory. Patterson led all players with 14 kills for the Bearcats, while Rueter added eight attacks and a team-best six digs. Hackworth paced the Lions with 11 kills.Â
ABOUT QUINCYThe Hawks are 12-10 this season and 4-7 in the conference. Quincy was on the road for non-league play Monday evening, where it dropped a close five-set decision at Missouri Baptist University. The Hawks have a balanced offensive attack, led by sophomore middle blocker Jarrod Kelso with 200 kills. Kelso is hitting .370 on the year, which is third in the MIVA. Junior opposite Jack Gamache is next with 193 attacks while he leads the squad with 28 service aces. Senior middle blocker John Pranger, who is fourth on the Quincy team with 144 kills, ranks fifth in the league in hitting percentage at .354. Sophomore setter Thane Fanfulik has handed out a team-best 570 assists, averaging just over nine assists per set.Â
In the back row, Quincy has two of the top five players in the MIVA in total digs. Gamache is third in the conference with 173 digs, while freshman libero Simon Bruckner is right behind in fourth place the league at 163 digs. At the net, Kelso has put down 92 kills, 20 of which are solos.Â
In the first meeting of 2015 between the two programs, Quincy rallied after dropping the first set to grab a four-set decision over McKendree. Wilcox put down 14 kills to show the way for the Bearcats, while Patterson connected for 12 attacks. Gamache had a team-high 14 kills for the Hawks, and junior outside hitter Ian Lawson contributed 12 kills in the effort.Â