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(LEBANON, Ill., April 19) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team will compete in the semifinal round of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament Wednesday night at 7 p.m. EST in Columbus, OH. The Bearcats will square off with the No. 2 team in the country as they take on the top seeded Buckeyes of Ohio State University with the winner advancing to the conference championship and a chance to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
McKendree swept No. 11 Ball State University who held the third seed in the opening round. The Bearcats dropped a pair of 3-1 decisions to the Buckeyes earlier this season as McKendree will look to pull off its second consecutive upset to continue its first post-season run in program history.
The Bearcats have tied their record for wins in a season after improving to 11-13 overall with last weekend's victory.
Head coach
Nickie Sanlin is embracing the underdog role with her team. "The match is one more milestone for the men," said Sanlin. "We have the opportunity to play one of the best all-around teams in the country and we are relishing the chance. We are going into this match with nothing to lose and are ready to compete at our highest level. We look forward to Wednesday in our first ever trip to the MIVA semifinal."
Sophomore outside hitter
Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) has led the Bearcats in kills from wire to wire this season totaling 247 on the season to go with 113 digs and 32 blocks. Fellow sophomore outside hitter
Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) is the only other Bearcat to top the 200 kill mark after landing 202 kills, adding 129 digs and 40 blocks. Junior middle hitter
Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) boasts 195 kills with a team high .457 attack percentage that ranks fourth in the nation. Patterson also ranks second on the team in blocks with 85. Junior opposite
Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) is coming off a match high 13 kill performance in the quarterfinals and leads McKendree in kills per set with an average of 3.13, totaling 188 kills on the season along with 76 digs and 38 blocks.
?Sophomore setter
Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) paces the Bearcats with 618 assists averaging nearly eight per set. Fiduccia has also tallied 93 digs and 38 blocks. Sophomore middle blocker
Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) leads McKendree in blocks with 97 and is tied with Patterson for second in the MIVA with 17 solos. Schmidt also ranks fifth in the league in blocks per set with an average of 1.14. Freshman libero
Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) ranks third in the MIVA in digs per set at 2.20, while sitting fifth in total digs with 185.
ABOUT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITYThe Buckeyes brushed up a 3-0 sweep over the eighth seeded Mastodons of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne in their quarterfinal match. Ohio State enters Wednesday with an overall record of 26-3 and are riding an impressive 18 match winning streak. The Buckeyes are led by reigning MIVA Player of the Year Nicolas Szerszen who has tabbed 431 kills while averaging 4.27 kills per set and a .402 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Miles Johnson is second on the team with 352 kills adding 138 digs and 48 blocks.
Junior setter Christy Blough leads Ohio State with 1007 assists and ranks second in the league with an average of 11.19 per set. Blough has also contributed 125 digs and 31 blocks. Freshman middle blocker Blake Leeson leads the Buckeyes in blocks with 71. Junior libero Gabriel Domecus leads the team in digs with 218, which is good enough for second in the MIVA. Domecus also ranks fifth in digs per set at 2.16.
