Box Score (LEBANON, Ill., April 20)—The McKendree University men's volleyball team fell to the No. 2 ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State University in Columbus, OH in the semifinal round of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association tournament. The Bearcats fell by scores of 25-20, 32-34, 25-12, and 25-13.

McKendree advanced to the semifinals as the No. 6 seed in the MIVA tournament after defeating No. 11 Ball State University, who held the third seed, in the opening round in Muncie, IN. The top seeded Buckeyes entered the semifinal round after sweeping Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne in their first round match.

Head coach Nickie Sanlin was elated of the way her team competed. "The men have progressed so much in a short three year period and I couldn't be more proud of the goals they achieved this year," said Sanlin. "It shows that they believe in me as much as I believe in them to truly respect the growth process. This is only the tip of the iceberg for this group, and even though the season has ended I am honored to call myself their coach and look forward to more successful moments that we will share together in the future."

The Bearcats were led offensively by junior opposite Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) who posted a team high eight kills to go with two digs and two blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) tallied seven kills to pair with a match high nine blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) also landed seven kills, adding two digs and four blocks.
Sophomore setter Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) handed out a team high 29 assists, while putting down two of his three attacks and tabbing three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) totaled five kills, four digs, and four blocks and junior middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) contributed five kills, one dig, and one block.

Ohio State took an early 7-5 lead in the first set before a pair of kills from Walker sparked a three point run for McKendree to give the Bearcats their first lead of the night. The Buckeyes responded with a three point run of their own to reclaim the lead before extending it to 16-13 midway through the set. McKendree used kills from Walker, Patterson, and Rueter to pull within one at 19-18, but Ohio State strung together a 4-0 run to open a five point lead and held on to take set one by the same margin.

The Bearcats started the second set with a 4-3 lead after back to back kills from Patterson. The Buckeyes rattled off seven of the next eight points to open up a 10-5 lead and force an early timeout from McKendree. The Bearcats came out firing after the stoppage with a 6-2 run including a block and a kill from Schmidt.  McKendree trailed 16-14 in the middle stages of the set before sparking a 4-0 run to take a brief lead at 18-16. Ohio State fired back with six straight points including a trio of kills, but the Bearcats countered with back to back blocks from Schmidt to finish off a three point spree and pull McKendree back within one. Schmidt added yet another kill and block as the teams were knotted at 25 and set to begin what would turn into a marathon second set. The Bearcats landed a block to force the first of five tries at set point, but back to back points from the Buckeyes put McKendree in danger of falling behind two sets to one. A key kill from Fiduccia turned the tables back in favor of the Bearcats before the teams traded a handful of points and found themselves even at 31-31. Ohio State took the lead at 32-31, but McKendree was able to score on the final three points capped off on back to back aces from Schmidt to even the match.

The Bearcats landed a trio of kills to start the third set as the teams found themselves even through 12 points. The Buckeyes reeled off four straight kills and went on to take 12 of 13 points from McKendree as Ohio State cruised through the third set and took a 2-1 advantage.

The Buckeyes stayed hot in the fourth set jumping out to a 6-0 lead. Schmidt was able to land three kills for the Bearcats, but the early deficit was too much to overcome as Ohio State was able to close out McKendree with a 12 point win in the fourth set.