(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 15) --The McKendree University volleyball team closed out action at the Mizuno Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover Challenge with a 3-0 loss to Saginaw Valley State University. The Bearcats fell by scores of 25-18, 25-19, and 25-20.
McKendree drops to 13-8 overall with the loss. The Bearcats return to action on Oct. 21 when they travel to Romeoville, IL to face Lewis University, who currently sits atop the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings and ranks 12
th nationally.
McKendree was led offensively by senior right side
Allison Schneider (St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh) who tallied 13 kills and seven digs. Junior right side
Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) put down nine kills and junior outside hitter
Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) added eight kills and nine digs.
Senior setter
Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and sophomore setter
Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) each dished out 18 assists as Dickmann added five digs with Melchert posting three of her own. Junior middle blocker
Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) tied for a match high four blocks, while senior libero
Breanna Howe (Mt. Pulaski, IL/Mt. Pulaski) stuck a team high 12 digs from the back row for the Bearcats.
Schneider connected on her first two attacks to help give McKendree an early 4-3 lead in the opening set. The Cardinals landed back to back kills to go up by one before scoring three straight points to push ahead 8-5. Saginaw Valley continued to control the set as it sandwiched a pair of three point runs around a kill from Geiger to take an 18-11 lead. The Bearcats used a kill from Williams along with back to back kills from senior middle hitter
Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) to cut into the lead at 19-15, but the margin was too much to overcome as the Cardinals closed the set on 4-1 run to take a 1-0 lead.
Schneider opened the second set with an ace to start things on the right foot for McKendree. Saginaw Valley responded with a pair of 3-0 runs to go up 8-5, but the Bearcats countered with a 6-2 run to recapture the lead 11-10 that included back to back kills from Schneider. The Cardinals wouldn't be out done as they took three of the next four points to claim a 14-12 advantage. Saginaw Valley saw its lead grow to four after putting down three straight kills at 19-15. The Cardinals lead held steady at 21-18 before Saginaw Valley landed another 3-0 run as they finished set two with a six point win.
Schneider and Geiger each put down a pair of kills in the early stages of set three, but the Bearcats found themselves trailing 8-6. McKendree was able to push ahead after kills from Geiger and Williams sparked a 3-0 run to give the Bearcats a one point edge. The Cardinals bounced back with five straight points to take a 13-9 lead before extending their lead to 18-12. The Bearcats used another three point run to pull within three, but Saginaw Valley capitalized on three straight errors from McKendree to go up by six and the Cardinals closed out the match with a five point win.
