(Springfield, MO, Oct 3) -- In a battle of Great Lakes Valley Conference division leaders, the McKendree women's volleyball team came out on top, dropping the Drury University Panthers on the road by a score of three sets to one. It marks the eleventh straight victory for the Bearcats, who have been on a tear in the early stages of GLVC play. McKendree improves to 12-3 on the season, and 7-0 in the GLVC, while Drury drops to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in conference action.

Senior Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) put together another outstanding performance, leading the Bearcats with 26 kills and 18 digs. The San Diego, CA native hit .295, committing only eight attack errors on 61 attempts. Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) also had a solid outing, putting away 14 kills to go along with 17 digs. Junior setter Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) averaged 11.25 assists per set, and recorded 14 digs, while Kelly Voss (St. Rose, IL/Mater Dei) contributed 13. Senior middle Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) was strong at the net, collecting six total blocks to lead the team.

The Bearcats controlled play for most of the first set, building a 17-9 advantage. Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) led the way, putting down seven kills and picking up 6 digs in the set, which McKendree won 25-18.

McKendree got off to another hot start in the second set, jumping out to a 14-6 lead. A Faith Alwardt kill  for Drury cut the Bearcats lead to just three points at 18-15, but McKendree responded with a three-point run to double their advantage. The Panthers fought off four straight set points before an Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) kill put it away at 25-22, giving the Bearcats the two-set advantage.

Drury then forced a fourth-set by taking the third 25-19. The Bearcats scored eleven of the first twelve points to start the fourth set, with kills from Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) (6), Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) (1), and Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) (1). From that point on, McKendree cruised to a 25-14 set win, taking the match 3-1.

The Bearcats continue conference play with two more road matches this weekend. On Friday, they will head north to take on the Quincy University Hawks at 7 pm, and then travel to Springfield, IL on Saturday for a 3 pm meeting with the Prairie Stars of Illinois Springfield. Both matches can be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network (http://glvcsn.com/).