(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 7)—The McKendree College volleyball team split its two matches Saturday at the Lindenwood University Invitational in St. Charles, Mo. The Bearcats defeated Central Methodist University in four games, then suffered a sweep against William Jewell College to wrap up their four-game stay in the event.

 

During the Bearcats’ victory over Central Methodist, junior setter Allison DeGroot (Highland, Ill./Highland) (Highland, Ill./Highland) became just the second player in team history to record 1,000 assists in a season. DeGroot had 53 against the Eagles, and added 21 more in the William Jewell match to push her season total to 1,053. Lyndsey Hillyard holds the Bearcats’ single-season mark with 1,656 assists, which was set in 2004.

 

McKendree moves to 16-10 on the year and will return to American Midwest Conference play Wednesday with a match at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

 

In Saturday’s opener, McKendree took down Central Methodist by scores of 30-14, 29-31, 30-27 and 30-26. Senior outside hitter Codi Dempster (Poplar Bluff, Mo./Twin Rivers) (Poplar Bluff, Mo./Twin Rivers) paced the offensive attack for McKendree with 20 kills. Freshman outside hitter Lisa Witte (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles) (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles) added 12 attacks, while sophomore middle hitter Katelyn Kombrink (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O’Fallon, Ill./O’Fallon) was next with 11 kills. Senior libero Marcy Gibson (Carbondale, Ill./Salem) (Salem, Ill./Salem) had a team-best 19 digs.

 

In the Bearcats’ final match on Saturday, William Jewell was able to avenge an early-season loss to McKendree with a 30-21, 30-23 and 30-26 decision. Codi Dempster (Poplar Bluff, Mo./Twin Rivers) had eight kills to lead McKendree. Dempster and Marcy Gibson (Carbondale, Ill./Salem) each had 16 digs in the match.