Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 15)—The McKendree University volleyball team picked the right time for one of its most complete team efforts of the 2013 season.
 
The Bearcats rolled to a three-set sweep Friday night at home against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in a key Great Lakes Valley Conference showdown at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The win was the eighth in the last 10 matches for McKendree, which improves to 13-17 overall and 8-9 in the GLVC.
 
In addition, Friday's victory keeps the Bearcats' chances for a berth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament alive. McKendree will close out the 2013 regular season Saturday at home against Lewis University. The Bearcats must defeat the Flyers and then await the outcome of the remaining GLVC contests to see if they will make the eight-team GLVC Tournament field. First serve is set for 3 p.m.
 
Prior to Saturday's contest, McKendree will honor its three seniors – Meghan Dohogne (Cape Girardeau, MO/Notre Dame Regional), Maddie Kelly (Lake Saint Louis, MO/Timberland) and Maureen Nesbit (Belleville, IL/Althoff Catholic) – in a special ceremony.
 
Against Wisconsin-Parkside, sophomore outside hitter Hannah Wessel (Waterloo, IL/Gibault Catholic) continued her recent strong play by leading a balanced offensive attack with 10 kills. Freshman middle hitter Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) connected for nine kills and added a match-high six blocks for the Bearcats. Sophomore right-side hitter Taylor Voss (Breese, IL/Breese Central) helped out with eight attacks along with four assisted blocks.
 
Kelly handled 15 digs in the match, while Nesbit posted 14 digs along with seven kills. All three freshman setters reached double figures in sets for McKendree. Breanna Howe (Mt. Pulaski, IL/Mt. Pulaski) led the trio with 17 assists, while Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) contributed 13 sets and Rebecca Nauman (Yorkville, IL/Yorkville) had 11.
 
As a team, McKendree hit .300 on the night and committed just 10 attack errors in the three sets. The Bearcats also used big runs in the first and third sets to build early leads, and trailed a total of just seven times in the entire match. McKendree was able to avenge a four-set loss to Wisconsin-Parkside back on Oct. 5 in Kenosha, Wis.
 
In the first set, McKendree jumped out to a 5-2 lead aided by two kills from Fairman. The teams continued to trade points before the Bearcats reeled off nine consecutive points to stretch the margin to 21-8. Voss sparked the run with three kills, while Wessel added two more. The 14-point win for McKendree in set one was the second-largest margin of victory in an opening-set win for the team this season.
 
Wisconsin-Parkside (18-12, 8-9 GLVC) led in the early stages of the second set, building a three-point lead on three different occasions. McKendree pulled even at 11-11 by scoring four of five points. The teams once again battled back and forth until the Bearcats seized the momentum with four consecutive points to take the lead for good at 21-17. McKendree was able to hold off a comeback bid from the Rangers to grab a two-set lead in the match.
 
The Bearcats opened the third set by scoring the first seven points. Sophomore middle hitter Lauren Apetz (Glenwood, FL/DeLand) had three of her seven kills in the decisive run. Wisconsin-Parkside clawed its way back into contention, pulling within 18-15 following a 5-1 spurt. A kill from freshman outside hitter Bailey Kampwerth (Breese, IL/Mater Dei) led to three straight points for McKendree, which regained a 21-15 advantage. Nesbit finished off the sweep for the Bearcats with a kill off a pass from Howe.
 
Lauren Hickson and Rebecca Roembke shared team-high honors for Wisconsin-Parkside with seven kills. Chelsea Neave had 14 assists while Sarah Mlachnik added 15 digs for the Rangers.