(Louisville, KY., Oct. 1)—The McKendree University women's volleyball team topped Bellarmine University 3-0 Saturday afternoon in Louisville, KY in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match up. The Bearcats won by scores of 26-24, 25-22, and 25-18.

The win moves McKendree to 10-5 overall and 5-1 in GLVC play this season. The Bearcats return to the court Oct. 4 with a midweek match up against the University of Illinois Springfield that wraps up the current five-match road trip for McKendree.

 Junior outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) showed the way for the Bearcats with a team high 11 kills to go with six digs. Senior middle hitter Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) hit .421, landing nine kills while adding a match high four blocks. Freshman outside hitter Kelly Voss (St. Rose, IL/Mater Dei ) finished just shy of a double-double with eight kills and ten digs. Junior right side Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) put down seven kills and two blocks, while senior right side Allison Schneider (St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh) chipped in seven kills of her own.

Senior setter Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) passed out a team high 19 assists while sticking five digs while sophomore setter Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) tabbed 15 assists and eight digs for the Bearcats. Freshman libero Alissa Zeitelhack (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) anchored the defensive effort with nine digs to help hold Bellarmine to a team attack percentage of just .118.

McKendree started hot using four kills including a pair from Fairman to open the match with a 7-3 lead. The Knights responded with three straight scores, but the Bearcats halted the run by taking six of the next seven points to go up 13-7. Williams and Schneider put down the next four kills for McKendree, but Bellarmine was able to cut into the lead with a pair of runs as trailing just 19-16 in the later stages of the set. The Knights continued to strike with a 5-2 run to take their first lead of the set at 24-23. The Bearcats regrouped after a timeout and used back to back kills from Geiger and Fairman to reclaim the lead before a block from Williams and Fairman captured set one for McKendree.

After falling behind 3-0 in the second set Schneider scored on back to back swings for the Bearcats to spark a 4-0 run and give McKendree a one point edge. Bellarmine responded with a pair of three point runs to go in front 9-6, but the Bearcats were able to rally and tied the match at 13-13 after a 5-1 run. McKendree continued to roll with another 4-0 run that included a pair of kills from Geiger to give the Bearcats a three point lead. The Knights pulled ahead by one point at 22-21, using a trio of kills in the midst of a 4-0 spree, but McKendree was able to close out the match scoring the final four points as Voss sandwiched the run with a pair of kills.

The teams traded points early in the third set before Bellarmine rattled off four straight to give the Knights a 12-8 lead. The Bearcats counted with a 6-2 marker to tie the match before stringing together five of the next six points to vault ahead 19-16. Bellarmine cut the lead to one with back to back points, but the Knights were unable to extend the match as McKendree scored the final six points of the set capped off by an ace from Zeitelhack to complete the sweep.