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(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 31)--The McKendree University will continue its final home stand of the 2014 regular season this weekend with Great Lakes Valley Conference contests against Rockhurst University and William Jewell College. The Bearcats will open the weekend by taking on Rockhurst Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center before squaring off against William Jewell Sunday at 1 p.m.

McKendree is in the midst of a four-match home stand, which opened Tuesday night with a three-set sweep of GLVC rival University of Illinois Springfield. The win pushed the Bearcats' record to 15-10 on the season, while they are now 9-5 in the GLVC standings. Entering the weekend, McKendree sits third in the GLVC East and is two games in front of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in the division standings. The Bearcats are looking to secure their first-ever berth in the GLVC Tournament, which will be held Nov. 13-15 at the Eastside Centre in East Peoria, Ill. Eight teams qualify for the single-elimination GLVC Tournament: the top three teams in each division along with two wild cards based on winning percentage in league play. 

In the UIS match, the Bearcats hit .382 as a team (including a .500 clip in the first set) in rolling to its fourth home victory of the season. Junior right-side hitter Lauren Apetz (Glenwood, FL/DeLand) continued her torrid play of late with a match-high 12 kills, hitting .579 in the process. Sophomore middle hitter Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) added 11 attacks and a .450 percentage, while freshman outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) narrowly missed a double-double with 11 kills and nine digs. Sophomore setters Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and Breanna Howe (Mt. Pulaski, IL/Mt. Pulaski) handed out 25 and 17 assists, respectively, while senior Abby Hanger (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) handled 12 digs in the back row. 

ABOUT ROCKHURST
The Hawks come into Saturday's match with the second-best win-loss record among all GLVC teams. Rockhurst is 21-3 on the year and is 12-2 in the conference. The Hawks have won their last four matches, including a road sweep at William Jewell on Tuesday. As a team, Rockhurst leads the GLVC in hitting percentage (.264), opponents hitting percentage (.147) and blocks (2.48 per set). The Hawks are also second in the league in kills (14.03 per set) and assists (13.16 per set). Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Rietzke shows the way for Rockhurst with 285 kills, which is a little more than three per set. Junior middle hitter Preecy Seever is next with 264 attacks while she leads the Hawks with 112 blocks. Seever leads the GLVC with a .405 hitting percentage and is second in the conference in blocks. Junior setter Whitney Kostal has already topped 1,000 assists on the year with 1,028, which tops all GLVC players. 

Veteran head coach Tracy Rietzke is in his 27th season at the helm of the Rockhurst volleyball program. Rietzke ranks second among NCAA Division II women's volleyball coaches in career victories with more than 1,100 and is in the top 10 among NCAA coaches at any level in career wins. 

In the last meeting between the two programs, Rockhurst registered a three-set sweep of McKendree on Nov. 10, 2013 in Kansas City. Hannah Wessel (Waterloo, IL/Gibault Catholic) led the Bearcats with a match-high 15 kiils while Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) contributed 13 kills and five blocks. 

ABOUT WILLIAM JEWELL
The Cardinals bring a 3-21 overall record and a 1-13 GLVC mark into the weekend. William Jewell will have a Saturday evening match at Illinois Springfield before heading south to take on the Bearcats. The Cardinals have dropped their last five contests, including a three-set loss at home on Tuesday to Rockhurst. 

Senior middle blocker Christina Pratt paces William Jewell with 181 kills, followed by junior outside hitter Kaylee Marquardt with 160 attacks. Pratt also leads the Cardinals with 59 blocks and 14 service aces on the year, while senior outside hitter Libby Ording is right behind with 56 blocks. Sophomore Amy Lindhorst is the top setter for William Jewell with 412 assists. 

The Bearcats rolled to a three-set sweep of William Jewell in the last match between the two schools on Nov. 9, 2013 in Liberty, Mo. Lauren Apetz (Glenwood, FL/DeLand) put down 10 kills in the contest while Breanna Howe (Mt. Pulaski, IL/Mt. Pulaski) handed out a team-best 21 assists for McKendree.

Following Sunday's match, the Bearcats will have just one more home contest on the year, which will come on Wednesday in a non-conference battle against the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Wednesday will be Senior Night, and McKendree will honor its two seniors -- Abby Hanger (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) and Kelsey Johnson (Aviston, IL/Breese Central) -- in a special ceremony before the contest.