GAME DAY LINKS --Â
McKENDREE vs. LEWIS -- Thursday, March 19, 2015 -- 7 p.m., Harry M. Statham Sports Center
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McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
LEWIS SEASON STATISTICS
(LEBANON, Ill., March 18)--The McKendree University men's volleyball team will bounce back into Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) play on Thursday when its hosts third-ranked Lewis University at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
The Bearcats had their season-high five-match win streak snapped on Monday evening with a four-set loss at Missouri Baptist University. Freshman
Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) was the only McKendree player to reach double figures in kills with 14. Wilcox also handled five digs in the contest. Freshman
Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) handed out 23 assists while freshman
Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) helped out with five assisted blocks for McKendree. The loss was the first in nearly a month for McKendree, with their last setback coming in five sets at IPFW back on Feb. 21.Â
McKendree enters Thursday's match with an overall record of 10-13 while the Bearcats are 1-9 in MIVA play. The last MIVA match for McKendree was their first-ever league triumph, a four-set decision over IPFW on Feb. 28. Six of McKendree's final seven matches this season will come against MIVA foes, beginning with Thursday's battle versus the Flyers.Â
Wilcox continues to lead McKendree in kills with 249, while leading the Bearcats with 24 service aces. Sophomore
Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) is next with 176 attacks and is still hitting a team-best .471. Patterson also has 52 blocks on the season, which is second to freshman
Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West)'s 91. Schmidt is also third on the team with 156 kills. Fiduccia now has 369 assists on the year, second only to freshman
Ian Zalewski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg), who has handed out 472 to date. Freshman
Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) is the lone McKendree player in triple-digits in the dig department with 117.Â
ABOUT LEWISThe Flyers are 16-2 on the year and currently sit atop the MIVA standings with a 7-1 mark. Lewis played in one of the most hyped matches of the 2015 season last week when the then-No. 2 Flyers made the short trip to Chicago to square off against then-No. 1 Loyola University. Lewis battled past the Ramblers in four sets to end Loyola's 40-match win streak that dated back to last season. The Flyers lost a little momentum later in the week with a five-set loss at Ohio State University before bouncing back on Tuesday to defeat IPFW in four sets at Neil Carey Arena.Â
Senior outside hitters Geoff Powell and Greg Petty have combined for more than 400 kills to date for Lewis. Powell leads the squad with 205 attacks, while Petty is right behind with 203 kills. Powell is also hitting .359 on the year while adding 87 digs and 52 blocks. Petty has chipped in with a .291 hitting percentage, a team-best 28 service aces and 42 blocks up front. Junior setter Scott Fifer has handed out a team-leading 553 assists this season, while senior libero Lucas Yanez has collected 117 digs in the back row. Junior middle blocker Bobby Walsh has helped anchor the net for Lewis with 79 blocks.Â
Thursday's contest will be the first of two meetings between McKendree and Lewis. The teams will also tangle in the Bearcats' regular-season finale on April 18.Â