Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 (RIVER FOREST, Ill., Jan. 25)—It was a historic day for the McKendree University men's volleyball program as the Bearcats notched their first-ever win at Dominican University on Saturday.
 
The Bearcats outlasted the host Dominican Stars in four sets to break into the win column. McKendree then dropped a five-set heartbreaker to the College of Mount St. Joseph to finish the day with a split of two matches.
 
Now 1-2 on the season, McKendree will be in Milwaukee for another tri-match, this time at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The Bearcats will take on the host Raiders at 11 a.m. before wrapping up a busy first weekend with a neutral-site match against Dominican University at 2:30 p.m.
 
There were a lot of heroes for McKendree on Saturday. Freshman right-side hitter Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) had a team-leading 13 kills in the win against Dominican and finished the day with 20 attacks. Freshman outside hitter Dustin Borenstein (Highland Park, IL/Highland Park) also had 20 kills in the two matches, with 12 coming against the host Stars. Freshman outside hitter Andrew Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove) put down 18 of his 20 kills in the five-set match with Mount St. Joseph. Freshman setter Jack MacLean handed out 94 assists, including 56 in the Mount St. Joseph match.
 
Freshman libero Brice Miller (O'Fallon, IL/Althoff Catholic) anchored the back row for the Bearcats with 25 digs, reaching double figures in both contests. Freshman right-side hitter Eric Abrolat (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) led McKendree at the net with 10 blocks while Walker added eight blocks.
 
In the opener, McKendree and Dominican split the first two sets before the Bearcats were able to grab control late in sets three and four to collect their historic victory. McKendree won by scores of 25-20, 14-25, 25-23 and 25-21.
 
In the first set, McKendree was able to grab the lead midway through the contest and was able to hold off the Stars down the stretch. With the set tied at 12-12, McKendree reeled off five straight points to take a 17-12 advantage. Walker had a service and freshman middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) had a kill to highlight the run.
 
The Bearcats were able to maintain that lead and grab a one-set advantage. Dominican bounced back with a dominant performance in the second set to knot the contest. It appeared that the Stars would grab a 2-1 lead in the set as they held a 20-19 lead in the third set. McKendree fought back and grabbed a one-point lead before Dominican tied the set one final time at 22-22. A kill by freshman Mike Polizzi put the Bearcats back in front to stay.
 
McKendree never trailed in the final set, with its largest lead coming at 15-7 following a kill by Borenstein that capped a run of four consecutive points for the Bearcats. McKendree continued to lead down the stretch, and a kill by Walker off a pass from MacLean sealed the win for the program's victory.
 
 Against Mount St. Joseph, McKendree trailed two sets to one before rallying in the fourth set to knot the contest. However, the Lions were able to grab a late lead in the deciding set to earn the victory. Mount St. Joseph won by scores of 20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 24-26 and 15-13.
 
McKendree led from start to finish in the first set, holding a five-point advantage on five different occasions. Schnitter had five attacks in the opening set. Mount St. Joseph responded by winning the next two sets to send the Bearcats to the brink. McKendree responded with a late rally in the fourth set to fourth a fifth and deciding contest. The Bearcats trailed 22-20 when an attack by Walker led to three consecutive points that gave McKendree a 23-22 lead. The teams traded points before consecutive kills by MacLean and Patterson finished off the fourth set.
 
The teams went toe-to-toe in the fifth set before the Lions were able to take control down the stretch. McKendree held its final lead at 11-10 thanks to a kill by Schnittker. Mount St. Joseph scored back-to-back points before a service error knotted the score one final time at 12-12. The Lions then scored three of the final four points to finish off the marathon match.