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(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 5) – The McKendree University volleyball team will look to hold serve as the leader of the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division with its final home stand of the season. The Bearcats will host a pair of GLVC matches at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center, including a Friday night match against Missouri S&T at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday matinee at 3 p.m. against Drury University.
McKendree is 17-9 overall and 11-2 in the GLVC. The Bearcats have an identical conference record with Lewis University, but hold a head to head tie breaker over the Flyers.
Saturday afternoon will mark the final home match for four Bearcats. Seniors
Jaden McBride (Farmington, MO/Farmington),
Lauren Apetz (Glenwood, FL/DeLand),
Taylor Voss (Breese, IL/Breese Central), and
Hannah Wessel (Waterloo, IL/Gibault Catholic) will wrap up their stellar careers with McKendree. McBride, a defensive specialist, is a transfer student who plays a key defensive role for the Bearcats. Apetz has played a prominent role as a middle hitter over her four year career, posting 883 kills and 244 blocks. Voss, a right side, has career numbers of 437 kills, 204 blocks, and 140 digs in 103 matches. Redshirt junior
Hannah Wessel (Waterloo, IL/Gibault Catholic) will also complete her Bearcat career totaling 595 kills, 305 digs, and 73 blocks. All four ladies have achieved success in the classroom at McKendree with multiple All-GLVC Academic honors.
Sophomore outside hitter
Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) paces the Bearcats with 340 kills and 343 digs. Williams will look to eclipse 1000 attacks for the second straight season as she is just 33 attacks away from mark. Junior middle hitter
Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) is second on the team in kills with 243. Fairman is second in the GLVC in attack percentage at .363 and has a team high 110 blocks. Junior outside hitter
Allison Schneider (St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh) rounds out the top three scorers for McKendree with 223 kills and 237 digs.
Junior setter
Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) has a team high 625 assists, to pair with 203 digs. Freshman setter
Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) has also seen significant time tabbing 431 assists with 175 digs. Sophomore outside hitter
Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) and senior right side
Taylor Voss (Breese, IL/Breese Central) have also made significant contributions for the Bearcats putting down 153, and 141 kills respectively. Sophomore middle blocker
Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) is second on the team with 66 blocks, while sophomore libero
Ashly Schmitt (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) has averaged 3.18 digs per set to help lead McKendree defensively.
ABOUT MISSOURI S&T
Missouri S&T enters the weekend with a record of 19-8 overall and sit in second place in the GLVC West Division at 10-3. The Miners have a combination of youth and veteran leadership leading the way offensively. Senior middle hitter Krista Haslag leads Missouri S&T in kills, (306) attack percentage, (.313) and blocks (139). Haslag is joined by freshman outside hitter Carlie Combs, who is just one kill behind Haslag at 305. Combs adds 217 digs and 43 blocks to provide a solid one-two punch for the Miners. Senior middle hitter Gracey Moon and sophomore outside hitter Claire Friedlund also play key roles for Missouri S&T. Moon has put down 212 kills and 74 blocks, while Friedlund has posted 189 kills and 42 blocks. Sophomore setter Alexis White has tallied 994 of the teams 1220 assists on the season. White adds 222 digs and 89 kills providing a strong option from the setting position. The Miners are 9-4 versus common opponents with McKenree, with the Bearcats going 11-4 in those matches. Missouri S&T split the season series against McKendree a year ago.
ABOUT DRURY UNIVERSITY
Drury posts a record 18-8 with an 8-5 mark in the GLVC. Senior outside hitter BJ Specht leads the Panthers with 327 kills and 322 digs, averaging 3.59 kills and 3.54 digs per set. Junior setter Brooke Antenen has tabbed 804 assists to lead Drury, while also putting down 248 kills adding a dynamic attack option from the setting position for the Panthers. Senior middle blocker Laynie Timmons is third on the team with 227 kills to pair with 83 blocks. Other key players for Drury include senior middle blocker Chloe Foster who has a team high 85 blocks, while putting down 148 kills. Foster also leads the Panthers in attack percentage at .279. Junior libero McKenna Poynter has racked up 442 digs from the back row for Drury. The Panthers are 8-5 against common opponents of McKendree, while the Bearcats are 12-2 in those matches. Drury topped McKendree 3-0 in their only matchup a season ago.
