(St. Louis, MO., October 30)—The McKendree University volleyball team rallied in the fifth set to steal a key Great Lakes Valley Conference road match Friday against the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Bearcats won by scores of 28-26, 25-21, 16-25, 19-25, and 17-15.

The win moves McKendree to 16-9 overall and 10-2 in the GLVC. The Bearcats return to action Saturday afternoon in St. Louis against Maryville University.

Junior outside hitter Allison Schneider (St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh) paced McKendree from the field with 17 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) tallied a double-double with 13 kills and 18 digs, while senior right side Taylor Voss (Breese, IL/Breese Central) and junior middle hitter Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) reached double digits in kills with 12 and 10 respectively.

The Bearcat setters had a strong day as freshman Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) had a team high 28 assists along with 16 digs, while junior Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) handed out 26 assists and added 22 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Maria Rasch (Kenosha, WI/Westosha Central) had a strong performance with six kills on 16 attempts for a team high .312 attack percentage. Rasch added eight blocks and sophomore libero Ashly Schmitt (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) notched 24 digs to help stymie the Missouri-St. Louis offense.

McKendree was sharp early in the first set with a pair of kills from Fairman, as well as kills from Williams, Voss, and Rasch to give the Bearcats an early 7-5 lead. The Tritons rallied back with five straight points including a pair of kills and a service ace to take a 12-9 lead. McKendree responded after a Schneider kill to take three of the next four points capped off by a Williams ace. After battling to a 20-20 tie the Bearcats used a kill from Voss and an attack error to take a two point advantage. Missouri-St. Louis took four of five points including three straight kills to retake the lead at 24-23. The Bearcats clawed back after facing set point at 25-24 and again at 26-25 to take three straight points including back to back kills from Williams to clinch the set.

McKendree broke open set two after a 12-12 tie with a pair of small runs to take a 19-14 lead. The Tritons fought back to cut the lead to just one point at 20-19, but a pair of kills from Fairman and three straight attack errors pushed the Bearcats over the top with a four point win.

Missouri-St. Louis came charging back after the intermission. The Bearcats opened with a 4-2 lead after a pair of kills from sophomore outside hitter Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran), but the Tritons responded with a four point run to take a two point advantage. McKendree recaptured the lead with four kills in five points including two from Schneider, but Missouri-St. Louis roared back with seven of the next eight points and 12 of the next 16 to put the set out of reach.

The Tritons continued their success in the fourth set opening up with a 10-4 lead. McKendree rallied all the way back to 13-12 with kills from four Bearcats, including two each from Voss and Williams. Missouri-St. Louis reclaimed the lead at 16-15 and took six of the final eight points of the match to win the set by six.

Things looked bleak for McKendree after the Tritons took a 4-0 lead in the fifth and final set. The Bearcats regrouped after a critical timeout and tied the match at four after a kill a piece from Williams and Schneider. The teams traded punches as the match remained tied at each point from 4-15. Missouri-St. Louis saw a glimmer of hope after taking a 15-14 lead forcing a match point, but the resilient Bearcats pulled off the comeback with three straight points including two kills from Schneider to clinch the set and the match.