(LEBANON, Ill., January 27) --The McKendree University men's volleyball team kicked off the 2016 season Thursday evening with a non-conference matchup, dropping a four-set decision to Missouri Baptist University. The Bearcats fell by scores of 25-20, 25-20, 22-25, and 25-21.

The loss moves McKendree to 0-1 overall. The Bearcats will wrap up their season opening home stand with a pair of
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association matches starting on Feb. 4^th against Ball State University at 7 p.m. in the Harry M. Statham Sports Center.

 Sophomore outside hitter Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) paced McKendree with 14 kills and two aces, as the only Bearcat to reach double digits in kills. Junior middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) landed seven of his 12 attacks hitting .417 from the field. Sophomore outside hitter Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) had a strong performance with six kills, four digs, and four blocks. Freshman outside hitter Will Frank (Moro, IL/Edwardsville) recorded his first collegiate kill tallying four on nine attempts while adding five digs.

Sophomore setter Ian Zalewski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) handed out 34 of the Bearcats 36 assists, adding three digs and block. Junior middle blocker Michael Polizzi (St. Louis, MO/DeSmet Jesuit) tabbed a team high five blocks, while freshman libero Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) put up a team high seven digs in his McKendree debut.

The Bearcats struggled to find their groove early surrendering 13 points on errors in the first two sets to dig an early 2-0 hole against the Spartans.

After shaking off the preseason rust McKendree bolted out to an early 4-1 lead thanks to back-to-back aces and a kill by Wilcox. The Bearcats extended that lead to 12-4 after six Missouri Baptist errors and a pair of kills from Frank. The Spartans worked their way back into the set cutting the lead to 13-10 while utilizing a four point run. The teams exchanged points before Missouri Baptist finally tied the set at 17 apiece. The Spartans were able to briefly snag a one point advantage at 21-20, but it was short lived as the Bearcats went on a 3-0 run with kills from Patterson and Wilcox and went on to clinch the set by three.

The fourth set was a back and forth battle as neither team was able to string a run greater than three points together. Missouri Baptist took an early 6-3 lead, but McKendree would strike back with a 4-1 run to tie the set at 11. The Spartans used one of their two three point sprees to open a three point lead, but the Bearcats took three of the next four points to cut that lead to a single point. The exact same situation would unfold again as Missouri Baptist used its second three point run to open a four point advantage, but McKendree would cut into that lead with another 3-1 run. The Bearcats couldn't get over the hump as they never came closer than two points down the stretch dropping the deciding set by four points.