(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 29)—The McKendree University volleyball swept past the University of Missouri-St. Louis 3-0 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match up Saturday afternoon inside the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats won by scores of 25-23, 25-21, and 25-20.  

McKendree moves to 16-9 overall with the win and 11-2 in GLVC play. The Bearcats return to action Friday Nov. 4 against GLVC foe Drury University in Springfield, MO.

McKendree was led offensively by junior outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) who notched a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Senior middle hitter Sophie Fairman (Staunton, IL/Staunton) finished with nine kills on .353 attacking to go with a pair of blocks. Senior right side Allison Schneider (St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh) also tabbed nine kills, with junior right side Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) posting five kills for the Bearcats.

Sophomore setter Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) dished out a match high 23 assist along with eight digs and two kills, while senior setter Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) handed out 11 assists to pair with six digs. Junior middle blocker Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) was three for five from the field adding two blocks, while freshman outside hitter Kelly Voss (St. Rose, IL/Mater Dei ) added three kills and 10 digs. Freshman libero Alissa Zeitelhack (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) stuck a match high 18 digs from the back row as McKendree held the Tritons to just a .088 attack percentage.

Missouri-St. Louis came out flying using a trio of three point runs to take an early 11-6 lead. The Bearcats stormed right back with seven straight points to take a 13-12 advantage thanks to four kills from Fairman. Back to back kills from Lorenz and a kill from Melchert started a 4-0 run for McKendree as the Bearcats moved ahead 19-16. The Tritons rallied to tie the set at 22-22, but Fairman carried the Bearcats down the stretch landing kills on three of the final four points to secure a two-point win in the first set.

The second set was a back and forth affair that saw the teams trade the first 24 points with neither team able to pull ahead by more than two points as the set squared at 12-12. A pair of errors from Missouri-St. Louis gave McKendree a 14-12 lead before a four point run that included kills from Geiger and Williams and a pair of aces from senior defensive specialist Breanna Howe (Mt. Pulaski, IL/Mt. Pulaski) pushed the Bearcats in front 19-14.  The Tritons were able to cut the lead to just two at 22-20, but Schneider laced a pair of kills as McKendree took three of the final four points to earn a four-point win in the second set.

The Bearcats came out firing in the third set as Williams put down a pair of kills to put McKendree in front 5-1. Geiger and Voss each tallied kills and Williams added an ace as the Bearcats continued to roll, moving ahead 11-3. Missouri-St. Louis wouldn't go away quietly as the Tritons strung together a pair of 5-0 runs to pull within one at 20-19, but McKendree countered with a 3-0 run to put Missouri-St. Louis on the ropes at 23-19 before closing out the set and the match with back to back kills from Geiger and Schneider.