GAME DAY LINKS -- 
McKENDREE at LOYOLA (Ill.) -- Friday, April 17, 2015 -- 7 p.m., Chicago, Ill.
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McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
LOYOLA SEASON STATISTICS

McKENDREE AT LEWIS -- Saturday, April 18, 2015 -- 7 p.m., Romeoville, Ill.
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McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
LEWIS SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., April 17)--The McKendree University men's volleyball team faces perhaps one of its toughest assignments when it heads north this weekend to close out the 2015 season. The Bearcats will take on a pair of nationally-ranked foes to wrap up the year, visiting fifth-ranked Loyola University in Chicago on Friday night before closing the season Saturday at No. 2 Lewis University. Both matches are set for a 7 p.m. first serve.

Lewis and Loyola slugged it out all season long for supremacy in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA). Lewis, which is 22-2 overall, leads the MIVA with a 13-1 conference mark. Loyola is 20-2 on the year and sits a game behind Lewis at 12-2 in the league standings. However, Lewis swept the season series from Loyola, meaning the Flyers can clinch the top seed in the upcoming MIVA Tournament with a victory in one of their last two league contests. Lewis hosts Ohio State University Friday evening before McKendree comes to town.

The Bearcats are looking to close the season on a strong note. McKendree dropped its final home match of 2015 last Saturday against Ball State University, falling to the visiting Cardinals in four sets. Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) paced the Bearcats with a match-high 20 kills against Ball State, Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor), Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) and Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) each connected for eight attacks in the contest, while Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) posted 43 assists and seven digs in the effort. McKendree moved to 11-17 on the year and 1-13 in the MIVA following the loss to Ball State. The Bearcats are wrapping up their first season as MIVA members. 

ABOUT LOYOLA
The Ramblers enter Friday's contest with McKendree having won seven of their last eight outings. All have come against conference opponents, including last Saturday's three-set sweep on the road at Lindenwood University. Junior outside hitter Thomas Jaeschke leads Loyola with 280 kills and 29 service aces. Jaeschke leads the MIVA in kills per set at 4.12, and is second to McKendree's Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) in hitting percentage at .378. Junior setter Peter Hutz has dished out a team-leading 836 assists, while freshman middle hitter Jeff Jendryk leads the Ramblers at the net with 89 blocks (12 solos). Hutz leads all MIVA players by averaging 11.45 assists per set, and Jendryk is fifth in the conference in blocks per set at 1.22.

Friday's contest will be the second meeting this season between McKendree and Loyola. Back on Feb. 7 at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center, the Ramblers rolled to a three-set sweep of the Bearcats. Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) paced McKendree with seven kills while Ian Zalewski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) handed out 18 assists for the Bearcats.

ABOUT LEWIS
The Flyers have won their last seven matches, a streak that dates back to March 17. Lewis is also trying to close out a perfect home season, having recorded victories in each of its first 10 matches on the floor at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers were on the road last Saturday to record a three-set sweep at Quincy University. Senior outside hitter Greg Petty has put down a team-high 281 kills for Lewis with an attack percentage of .303. Petty is fifth in the MIVA in kills per set at 3.51. Senior outside hitter Geoff Powell is next with 259 attacks, and his .358 kill percentage is fifth in the conference. Junior setter Scott Fifer has handed out a team-leading 739 assists. Junior middle blocker Bobby Walsh has put down 109 blocks (15 solos) to pace the Flyers. Walsh leads all MIVA players with 1.54 blocks per set.

In the first 2015 meeting between the two programs, Lewis outlasted McKendree in four sets on March 19 at the Statham Center. Patterson led the Bearcats with 13 kills and a .647 attack percentage. Fiduccia handed out 39 assists in the contest for the Bearcats.