(LEBANON, Ill., April 1) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team fell in a four-set decision to Ohio State University in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association contest Friday night in front of a record crowd at the Harry. M Statham Sports Center. The Buckeyes came out ahead with scores of 25-19, 20-25, 25-17, and 25-22.
The teams will reset and square off in the second half of a weekend series set for Saturday night at 7 p.m.
The loss drops the Bearcats to 9-11 overall and moves their conference record to 4-9.
McKendree was led offensively by a pair of sophomore outside hitters as
Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) and
Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) each tallied 11 kills. Rueter added seven digs and two blocks, while Wilcox stuck four digs with two blocks. Junior outside hitter
Andrew Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove) finished third in kills with nine to go with five digs and two blocks.
Sophomore middle blocker
Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) went 8-13 from the field for a match high .538 attack percentage while posting a match high four blocks. Junior middle blocker
Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) put down seven kills and tied Schmidt with four blocks of his own. Sophomore server
Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) handed out a team high 39 assists to go with three digs and two blocks and freshman libero
Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) put up a match high 11 digs from the back row to aid the Bearcats defensively.
McKendree took an early 4-3 lead over Ohio State before the Buckeyes countered with a 5-1 run to turn the tables and go up by a score of 8-5 to start the match. The Bearcats responded with back to back kills from Rueter and Wilcox to pull McKendree within one. Ohio State was able to stretch its lead to five with a four point run before extending that lead to six point a short time later at 19-13. The Bearcats attempted to comeback with kills from Wilcox, Patterson, and Schmidt, but the Buckeyes were able to hold on and take a 1-0 lead.
Patterson showed the way for McKendree in early in the second set as the 6'6" junior put down the first four kills for the Bearcats to give McKendree a 4-2 edge. A three point run capped off on back to back kills from Rueter extended the lead to 7-4 in favor of McKendree. Ohio State began to claw back as the Buckeyes pulled within just one point at 12-11, but it was short lived as the Bearcats used a three point spree to keep Ohio State at an arm's length. McKendree led 19-17 in the later stages of the set and pushed ahead after taking three of four points that included a pair of kills from Rueter. After a service error the Bearcats once again took three of four points from the Buckeyes to close out the set and tie the match at 1-1.
After Ohio State came out ahead in the third set McKendree came out firing on all cylinders in the fourth as kills from Schmidt and Schnittker opened up a 5-1 lead to the crowds delight and forced an early timeout from the Buckeyes. Ohio State used a pair of aces to spark a four point run of their own to tie things at 6-6 but McKendree landed back to back points to reclaim the lead. The Buckeyes regrouped and rattled off an 8-2 run to take their first lead of the set before extending their lead to 19-13. The Bearcats wouldn't go away quietly, responding with a four point run that included back to back kills from Schmidt. Ohio State took four of the next six points to open a 23-19 lead and force McKendree to the brink, but once again the Bearcats showed heart connecting on three straight points to pull within just one point late in the fourth set. The comeback was silenced after the Buckeyes scored on a pair of kills to claim the fourth set and the match 3-1.
