(LEBANON, Ill., March 15) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team will take advantage of its spring break with a trio of nonconference matches this week. The Bearcats will take on Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC Wednesday evening before Thursday and Friday matchups with King University and Barton College.

McKendree is 6-8 overall this season with a 4-6 record in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.

The Bearcats utilize a balanced offensive attack with four players topping the century mark in kills thus far. Sophomore outside hitter Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) leads McKendree with 155 kills to go with 59 digs and 21 blocks. Junior opposite Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) is second in kills with 141 averaging a team high 3.07 kills per set. Walker also boasts 57 digs and 27 blocks. Junior middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) rounds out the top three attackers for the Bearcats with 124 kills while sporting a .405 attack percentage that ranks third in the MIVA and 10^th nationally.

Sophomore setter Ian Zalewski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) has a team high 302 assists and ranks third in the MIVA with an average of 10.07 per set. Zaleweski has also tallied 31 digs to pair with 14 blocks. Fellow sophomore setter Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) has also seen significant court time this season handing out 291 assists and adding 45 digs and 22 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) is the fourth and final Bearcat over the 100 kill plateau with 107. Rueter has also tacked on 80 digs and 21 blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) has put down 91 kills while leading McKendree in blocks with 65. Schmidt's 1.35 blocks per set lead the conference and rank fourth in the country. Freshman libero Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) has a team high 120 digs from the back row and his 2.31 digs per set place him fourth in the MIVA.

ABOUT LEES-McRAE COLLEGE

Lees-McRae has had a rough go of it this season as the Bobcats are currently winless with a record of 0-16. Junior John Sobel leads Less-McRae in kills with 210, for an average of 3.68 kills per set, adding 64 digs and 31 blocks. Junior Mark Shayka is second on the team with 156 kills to go with 42 digs and 17 blocks. Freshman Hector Serviat rounds out the top three attackers for the Bobcats with a line of 88 kills, 40 digs, and 22 blocks. Senior Drew Blecher handles the setting duties for Less-McRrae posting 486 assists for an average of 8.53 per set. Junior Rudy Klaas paces the Bobcats in blocks with 35, and junior Keenan Freitas leads the team in digs with 143. The Bearcats do not share a common opponent with the Bobcats this season and this will mark just the third meeting between the two programs as the teams currently hold a 1-1 record after two matchups. Less-McRae swept McKendree in its inaugural season before the Bearcats returned the favor a season ago.

ABOUT KING UNIVERSITY

King enters the weekend with an overall record of 5-17 and are currently on a four match losing streak. Sophomore outside hitter Jeff Sprayberry is one of four Tornado players to reach the 100 kill mark this season, as he leads the team with 278 and a 3.66 per set average. Sprayberry is one dig shy of the team lead with 135 while contributing 33 blocks. Sophomore opposite Sean Luhmann is second in kills with 167 to go with 104 digs and 30 blocks. Freshman middle blocker Jon Wheaton ranks third in kills with 116 to pair with a team high 65 blocks. Senior middle blocker Matthew Lychock is the final King player over 100 kills with 107 and is just behind Lychock with 60 blocks. Sophomore setter Nick Drooker leads the Tornados with 675 assists, handing them out at a rate of 8.88 per set to go with a team high 136 digs. King and McKendree have faced two common opponents this season with the Bearcats showing a 1-2 record in those matches, while the Tornados are 0-2. McKendree is 1-1 all-time versus King as the teams exchanged sweeps the past two seasons.

ABOUT BARTON COLLEGE

Barton is off to an impressive 12-5 start to the season and is riding a six-match win streak entering the week. The Bulldogs deploy a three pronged attack offensively as freshman outside hitter Vasilis Mandilaris leads the way with 194 kills, 55 digs, and 22 blocks. Mandilaris also leads the team in kills per set at 3.59. Senior outside hitter Pierre Tang-Taye ranks second on the squad in both kills and digs with 182 and 79 respectively. Freshman outside hitter Aleksa Brkovic rounds out the top offensive scorers for Barton with 134 kills adding 74 digs and 21 blocks. Junior setter Federico Pagliara has tallied a team high 496 assists on the season and ranks second in the nation with an average of 11.53 assists per set. Freshman middle blocker Nick Leary has put up a team high 36 blocks and freshman libero Kekaulike Alameda has tabbed a team high 161 digs to aid the Bulldogs defensively. This will be the second meeting between the two programs after Barton posted a 3-0 decision over McKendree in 2014. The teams have yet to meet a common opponent this season.