(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 11) — The McKendree University men's volleyball team dropped a five-set decision to No. 6 Lewis University Saturday evening in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association contest. The Bearcats fell by scores of 20-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16, and 15-7.

The loss moves McKendree to 5-10 overall and 1-4 in the MIVA this season. The Bearcats return to action Tuesday as they host No. 5 University of Hawaii.

McKendree saw four players reach double figures in kills as senior opposite Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) put down a team high 18 kills to go with eight digs and two blocks. Junior outside hitter Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) tagged 14 kills and seven digs, junior middle blocker Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) put down 12 kills, and senior middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) added 10 kill, while hitting .533 from the field.

Junior setter Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) handed out a match high 52 assists to pair with 10 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Will Frank (Moro, IL/Edwardsville) put down six kills to go with five digs, and sophomore libero Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) stuck five digs.

Patterson connected three times to open the match, giving the Bearcats an early 6-4 lead. Rueter added a kill as McKendree pushed ahead 8-5, but Lewis scored five of the next six points to claim a 10-9 advantage. Patterson and Frank put down a kill each prior to 4-0 run that included an ace from Patterson and a kill from Schmidt to flip the script in favor of the Bearcats at 16-14 as the Flyers burned a timeout to regroup. Following a kill from Lewis, McKendree notched six of the next seven points after a trio of kills from Rueter and a block and a kill from Walker as the Bearcats strolled to a five point win in set one.

Rueter put down back-to-back kills to open the second set for McKendree, but the Flyers bolted ahead 9-6 with a 9-3 spree. The Bearcats stormed back with a 4-0 run after a kill and back to back aces from Frank gave McKendree an 11-10 lead. Rueter, Schmidt, and Frank put down a kill each as the Bearcats extended the lead to 16-13. Lewis was able to pull within one at 19-18, but McKendree halted the run with three straight points to go up by four at 22-18 before a pair of kills from Schmidt closed out set two for the Bearcats.

Walker recorded four kills early in set three to give McKendree a 10-9 lead. The Flyers bounced back with a 5-0 run to take a 14-10 lead and extended it to five at 20-15. Rueter put down a pair of kills to pull the Bearcats within striking distance at 21-18, but McKendree could not overcome the deficit as Lewis picked up its first set of the night with a five-point win.

The Flyers streaked through set four with a nine point win to send the match to a decisive fifth set in the race to 15. Frank opened the set with an ace to give McKendree the lead, but the Bearcats surrendered nine of the next 10 points to give the Flyers a commanding 9-2 lead as Lewis secured the five set come back with an eight point win in the final set.