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(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 27)--The McKendree University volleyball team will hit the road for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference matches over the weekend. The Bearcats will be in Romeoville, Ill., to face Lewis University Friday at 7 p.m. before heading to Kenosha, Wis., for a matchup with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.Saturday at 3 p.m.

McKendree enters weekend play with an overall record of 6-8, while holding a 2-3 mark in GLVC action. The Bearcats are looking to bounce back from a tough five-set loss at home Tuesday night in non-conference play against Missouri Baptist University. McKendree held a 2-1 set lead and was serving for match point in the fourth set, but the visiting Spartans scored the last four points of the set then controlled the fifth and deciding set to escape with the road win.

Through the first four weeks of the 2012 season, head coach Lisa Orlet's squad has shown a balanced offensive attack, having three players with at least 100 kills and another approaching the century mark. Freshman middle hitter Lauren Apetz (Glenwood, FL/DeLand) leads the stat sheet with 161 kills, averaging just over three per set. Junior outside hitter Maureen Nesbit (Belleville, IL/Althoff Catholic) is close behind with 133 attacks, while freshman outside hitter Hannah Wessel (Waterloo, IL/Gibault Catholic) is third with 108 kills. Junior middle hitter Mel Duncan sits in fourth on the squad with 92 kills.

Up front, Duncan tops the Bearcat squad with 47 blocks, while Apetz is next with 39 blocks. Freshman right-side hitter Rachel Nelson (Papillion, NE/Papillion-LaVista South) sits third on the team in blocks with 27. Junior setter Abby Hanger (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) has handed out 538 assists, and is on pace to become just the third player in program history with 1,000 assists in a season.

The back row is anchored by junior libero Maddie Kelly (Lake Saint Louis, MO/Timberland), who has collected a team-best 273 digs. Nesbit is second in the category with 193 digs. Nesbit has served up nearly one-quarter of the Bearcats' 60 service aces on the year as she has posted 14. Hanger is close behind with 12 while Nelson is third with 10 aces.

Lewis currently sits in a tie for second place in the GLVC standings with a 4-1 league mark. The Flyers have won their last four matches -- all of which have come at home -- to improve to 8-6 on the season. Lewis is led by the senior outside hitter tandem of Colleen Mitros and Jen Krumwiede. Mitros has a team-best 184 kills and 170 digs, while Krumwiede has helped out with 130 kills, 150 digs and 24 blocks.

Wisconsin-Parkside enters the weekend with a 10-4 record. The Rangers are tied with McKendree in the GLVC East Division standings at 2-3. Wisconsin-Parkside will host Bellarmine on Friday evening before the Bearcats rolls into town. The Rangers' top offensive threat is junior outside hitter Bridget Nickel, who leads the squad with 123 kills along with 14 service aces. Nickel also ranks among team leaders with 74 digs and 22 blocks.