(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 14)—The McKendree College volleyball team went down with plenty of fight Tuesday in Liberty, Mo., dropping a five-game thriller to William Jewell College in the quarterfinal round of the NAIA Region V Tournament. The host Cardinals took the match by scores of 28-30, 31-29, 27-30, 30-19 and 15-6.

 

The loss ends the Bearcats’ season with an overall record of 26-17. This was the fourth consecutive year that McKendree had advanced to the regional tournament.

 

Junior setter Allison DeGroot (Highland, Ill./Highland) (Highland, Ill./Highland) etched her name in the McKendree record book, becoming the Bearcats’ single-season assist leader in the team’s final match of 2006. DeGroot handed out 48 assists against William Jewell, giving her a final season total of 1,683. DeGroot surpassed the old record of 1,656 assists, set by Lyndsey Hillyard in 2004.

 

Sophomore middle hitter Katelyn Kombrink (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) (O’Fallon, Ill./O’Fallon) and freshman outside hitter Lisa Witte (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles) (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles) each had a team-high 12 kills to lead McKendree. Kombrink also led the way with eight blocks, including four solos. Senior outside hitter Codi Dempster (Poplar Bluff, Mo./Twin Rivers) (Poplar Bluff, Mo./Twin Rivers) closed out her Bearcat career with 10 kills and 16 digs, while senior libero Marcy Gibson (Carbondale, Ill./Salem) (Salem, Ill./Salem) handled a team-leading 20 digs in her final match at McKendree.

 

William Jewell moves to 21-10 on the year and will play Friday in the NAIA Region V Tournament semifinals at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo.