Box Score (Lebanon, Ill., November 6) - The McKendree University volleyball team rallied in the fifth set to top Missouri S&T Friday night in the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats won by scores of 25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 21-25, and 15-9.

McKendree improves to 18-9 overall and 12-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Bearcats will return to action Saturday afternoon as they host Drury University for their final home match of the year. The match will also be senior day as McKendree will honor its four seniors in a short ceremony prior to first serve.

The Bearcats were paced by sophomore outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) who racked up 24 kills, 17 digs, and two blocks. Junior middle hitter Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) also had a great performance with 13 kills on just 21 attempts for a .571 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Allison Schneider (St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh) notched a double-double with 12 kills and 22 digs for McKendree.
Junior setter Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) fell one dig shy of a double-double passing out 31 assists and nine digs. Freshman setter Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) dished out 27 helpers and added nine digs. Sophomore middle blocker Maria Rasch (Kenosha, WI/Westosha Central) had a solid night with five kills and six blocks and sophomore libero Ashly Schmitt (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) tallied 31 digs without an error to aid the Bearcats from the back row.

McKendree looked smooth early in the evening as the Bearcats opened up a 4-1 lead thanks to three straight kills from Williams. The Miners strolled back to tie the match at 6-6 before the teams traded four point runs. Missouri S&T used the tail end of it four point run to rally ahead taking eight of the next 10 points. Trailing 14-12 McKendree went on a 6-1 run with a pair of kills from Williams and a service ace from Schmitt. The Miners cut the lead to two, but the Bearcats took four of the next five points and cruised to a five point win in the first set.

McKendree jumped out to a 7-3 advantage in set two with five kills from five different Bearcats and an ace from Dickmann. McKendree extended that lead to seven after dropping two points the Bearcats rallied to take five straight points, three of which came on Williams' kills. Missouri S&T cut the lead to four at 14-10, but that was as close as they could come as McKendree cruised to an eight point win.

Momentum shifted after the intermission as the Miners were able to steal sets three and four resulting in a decisive fifth set. Missouri S&T started hot taking three of four points but the Bearcats responded with four straight points including two kills from Fairman forcing a Miner timeout. The stoppage was merely a band aid for Missouri S&T as McKendree extended its lead to 11-6 after three straight errors from the Miners. The Bearcats added three kills down the stretch from Rasch, Schneider, and sophomore outside hitter Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) to claim the set and the match for McKendree.