(LEBANON, Ill., March 24) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team wraps up its current 10 match road trip this weekend with a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association matches. The Bearcats travel to Fort Wayne, IN for a Friday night tilt with Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne before taking on Ball State University in Muncie, IN Saturday evening in their final road match of the season.
McKendree is 9-8 overall this season with a 4-6 record in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. The Bearcats are in the midst of a three-match win streak which has propelled them above the .500 mark for the first time in the programs three year history.
McKendree is paced offensively by sophomore outside hitter
Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) who has a team high 189 kills to go with 81 digs and 25 blocks. Junior middle blocker
Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) is second on the team in kills and blocks with 143 and 57 respectively. Patterson ranks second in the MIVA and fifth in the nation in hitting percentage at .437. Junior opposite
Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) comes in right behind Patterson with 141 kills adding 57 digs and 27 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter
Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) rounds out the top attackers for the Bearcats with 139 kills while ranking second in digs with 94.
Sophomore setters
Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) and
Ian Zalewski (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) have each seen significant court time this season. Fiduccia leads the team in assists with 385 to go with 67 digs and 31 blocks and Zalewski ranks third in the MIVA averaging 9.83 assists per set totaling 344. Sophomore middle blocker
Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) has put down 121 kills and leads McKendree in blocks with 78. Schmidt also leads the conference in blocks per set at 1.30, which ranks him sixth in the nation. Freshman libero
Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) ranks third in the MIVA in digs per set at 2.26 after tabbing 138 on the season.
ABOUT INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY FORT WANYE The Mastodons enter the weekend with an overall record of 8-14 and a 1-9 clip in MIVA play. IPFW rides a one match skid after splitting a weekend series with Grand Canyon University a week ago. The Mastodons are led by senior opposite Andrew Sellan who leads the MIVA in both kills and kills per set with 341 and 4.55, which also ranks third nationally. Sellan adds 117 digs and 41 blocks to enhance his stat line. Sophomore outside hitter Tony Price is second on the team in kills (225), digs (124), and blocks (54). Senior middle blocker David Frazee rounds out the top three scorers for IPFW with 122 kills and a team high 74 blocks.
Freshman setter Michael Keegan has handed out a team high 602 assists for an average of 9.56 per set ranking fifth in the MIVA. Keegan has also contributed 97 digs and 31 blocks. Senior libero Luis Bertran paces the Mastodons from the back row with a team high 217 digs. Bertran leads the conference in digs per set at 2.68. IPFW is 3-7 against common opponents of McKendree this season while the Bearcats are 4-7 in similar matchups. McKendree topped the Mastodons 3-2 in their first meeting of the year back on Feb. 26.
ABOUT BALL STATE UNIVERSITYThe No. 9 ranked Cardinals boast a record of 17-5 overall and are tied for first place in the MIVA with a 9-1 record in conference matches. Ball State sports a similar three match win streak after sweeping a pair of matches last week. The Cardinals are led by junior outside hitter Brendan Surane who posts a team high 205 kills with 83 digs and 49 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Mitch Weiler is second on the squad in both kills and digs with 168 and 137 respectively. Junior outside hitter Mike Scannell ranks third on the team in kills with 132 adding 57 digs and 45 blocks.
Senior setter Hiago Garchet leads Ball State with 743 assists to go with 118 digs and 61 blocks. Junior middle blocker Alex Pia has a team high 98 blocks, while sophomore middle blocker Matt Walsh ranks fifth in the MIVA in blocks per set at 1.15 after tallying 93 thus far. Freshman libero Adam Wessel is fourth in the MIVA in digs per set with 2.25 average. The Cardinals are 10-1 versus common opponents of the Bearcats, while McKendree is 6-6 in those matches. The Bearcats dropped a 3-2 decision to Ball State in the second match of the season on Feb 4.
