Box Score
POST-MATCH INTERVIEWS: Abby Hanger (Belleville, IL/Belleville West)  |  Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day)  |  Coach Nickie Sanlin

(EAST PEORIA, Ill., Nov. 13)—The McKendree University women's volleyball team recorded a piece of school history with its four-set victory on Thursday over Rockhurst University in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. The Bearcats prevailed by scores of 25-20, 25-21, 23-25 and 25-23. The eight-team, single-elimination event is being held at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill.
 
The Bearcats became the first McKendree program to register a post-season victory since joining the GLVC in 2012. McKendree also did it in dramatic fashion, winning the final six points of set four to surge into Friday's semifinal round. The Bearcats will the University of Indianapolis on Friday at 3 p.m. The Greyhounds swept past the University of Missouri-St. Louis in Thursday's second GLVC Tournament quarterfinal contest.
 
"What an effort by our team today," said McKendree women's volleyball coach Nickie Sanlin. "We played extremely well in the first two sets and Rockhurst showed why they are such a good team as they came back. They had us on the ropes, but we found some inner strength and found a way to come back. I'm so proud of them, and they know this is just the first step."
 
 McKendree improves to 19-12 on the season with Thursday's victory. The Bearcats defeated Indianapolis in the only meeting between the two schools this season back on Oct. 3 in Indianapolis. McKendree outlasted the Greyhounds in five sets, rallying to win the final two sets for their second win in as many years in the series.
 
Freshman outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) and sophomore middle hitter Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) shared team-high honors for McKendree with 15 kills each. William notched a double-double by adding 13 digs in the effort, while Fairman put down a match-high seven blocks. Junior right-side hitter Lauren Apetz (Glenwood, FL/DeLand) came off the bench to add 12 attacks and four blocks. Senior outside hitter Kelsey Johnson (Aviston, IL/Breese Central) contributed nine kills, 15 digs and six assisted blocks in the win for the Bearcats.
 
Senior defensive specialist Abby Hanger (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) anchored the back row with a team-best 17 digs. Sophomore setter Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) reached double-digits in both assists and digs, collecting 25 and 10, respectively. Sophomore setter Breanna Howe (Mt. Pulaski, IL/Mt. Pulaski) helped out with 23 sets for McKendree.
 
The teams battled back and forth in the first set until McKendree scored five of six points to pull out to an 18-13 lead. The Bearcats eventually stretched the margin to as many as six points in taking a 1-0 lead in the match. McKendree hit .314 in the opening set, compared to just .091 for Rockhurst.
 
Set two proved to be the most tightly-contested of the four as there were 13 ties and nine lead changes. The Hawks held a 15-14 advantage when a pair of kills by Apetz and a service ace from Williams sparked a run of four straight points that put McKendree ahead to stay at 18-15. Rockhurst battled back to within a point on two different occasions – the last coming at 20-19 – before the Bearcats reeled off five of the final six points to build a two-set lead in the contest.
 
McKendree went for the sweep in the third set and was able to battle back late in the contest to grab a 23-22 lead. Rockhurst answered by scoring the final three points of the set to cut the Bearcats' match lead to 2-1. The Hawks then dominated the majority of the fourth set, taking a six-point lead in the middle stages in hopes of forcing a fifth set.
 
Trailing 18-12, McKendree started its comeback with three straight points to trim the deficit to 18-15. The Bearcats pulled within two points moments later at 21-19, but a pair of unforced errors helped Rockhurst regain a 23-19 advantage.
 
At that point, McKendree took control. A kill by Johnson started the final push, and a kill from junior right-side hitter Taylor Voss (Breese, IL/Breese Central) forced a Rockhurst time out at 23-21. An attack error by the Hawks, followed by consecutive kills from Williams, pushed the Bearcats to the brink of victory at 24-22. Another attack error from Rockhurst sealed the comeback and the match victory for McKendree.
     
The win enabled McKendree to avenge a five-set loss to Rockhurst just 12 days ago. The Hawks won the first two sets on Nov. 1 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center before the Bearcats rallied to force a fifth set. Rockhurst won the deciding game 15-13 in the first meeting.
 
Morgan Rietzke and Maggie Hummel each had 10 kills to lead Rockhurst (25-4). Whitney Kostal handed out a match-high 36 assists in the effort, while Anne Hellwege handled 19 digs in the back row for the Hawks. The loss snapped a nine-match win streak for Rockhurst.