Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 9)—The McKendree University men's volleyball team made its 2015 home debut with a four-set loss Friday evening against Grand View University. The visiting Vikings, who are ranked No. 2 in the NAIA men's volleyball pre-season poll, took the best-of-five match by scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-19 and 25-20.
 
With the loss, McKendree slips to 0-3 on the young season. The Bearcats will have nearly two weeks off before returning to action Jan. 23-24 at the Park University Invitational in Parkville, Mo. McKendree will have two matches each in the two-day event. The Bearcats will not play home again until a Jan. 27 non-conference match-up against Missouri Baptist University.
 
Freshman middle blocker Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) led a balanced attack for McKendree with 12 kills while adding four blocks. Sophomore right-side hitter Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) chipped in with 11 attacks and four blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) contributed nine kills along with a .538 hitting percentage for the Bearcats. Freshman setter Ian Zalewski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) handed out a match-high 39 assists in the contest.
 
In the first set, Grand View led for the majority of the contest. McKendree never trailed by more than four points before chipping away at the deficit and using a late run to rally for an early advantage. Trailing 20-17, the Bearcats closed the set by scoring eight of the final nine points to steal the set. Freshman opposite Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) helped fuel the burst with a pair of service aces and sealed the comeback with a kill on the final point of the set.
 
The second set was close throughout with Grand View once again controlling the tempo. McKendree was able to pull within 23-22 following an attack error by the Vikings, but the visitors recovered to grab a two-point victory to even the match at a set apiece. Grand View led from start to finish in the third set, leading by as many as nine points to seize a 2-1 set advantage.
 
McKendree bounced back in the early stages of the fourth set, building a four-point lead on three different occasions. The Bearcats held a 13-9 lead before Grand View fought back. The Vikings scored four consecutive points to tie the set before a kill by Patterson gave McKendree its final lead of the night at 14-13.
 
From there, Grand View slowly took control. The Vikings bulled their way to the lead and closed the match on a 5-1 run to complete the four-set victory.
 
Felipe Nogueira put down a match-high 16 kills to lead Grand View, which was playing in its 2015 season opener. Felipe Rose handed out 36 assists and handled a match-high 10 digs for the Vikings.