(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 14) — The McKendree University men's volleyball dropped a 3-0 contest to the No. 4 Rainbow Warriors from the University of Hawai'i Tuesday evening inside the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats fell by scores of 25-16, 25-19, and 25-18.
The loss dips McKendree to 5-11 on the season. The Bearcats return to action Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. against Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foe Quincy University.
Senior middle hitter Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) led the way for McKendree with eight kills on 14 swings for a .429 attack percentage. Junior middle blocker Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) followed with seven kills and a team high three blocks, while senior opposite Andrew Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove) added four kills of his own. Junior setter Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) tallied 24 assists and sophomore libero Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) added a team high six digs for the Bearcats.
Schmidt got the scoring started for McKendree with a pair of kills and an ace to give the Bearcats an 11-10 lead to open the match. Hawai'i countered with four straight points before taking seven of the next eight to go in front 17-12. Senior opposite Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) and Patterson cut the deficit to three with back-to-back kills, but the Rainbow Warriors used another 7-1 run to put the set out of reach and took a 1-0 lead.
Schmidt put down another kill followed by a kill and a block from Patterson to open set two, but the score remained gridlocked at 4-4 after the first eight points. A 3-0 run from Hawai'i put the Rainbow Warriors ahead before a pair of kills from junior outside hitter Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) and a kill from Schmidt trimmed the lead to one at 9-8. Hawai'i shot back with a 7-1 spree to take a 16-9 lead before 6-2 run that included a pair of kills from Schmidt and Patterson slashed the lead back to three at 18-15. A pair of 3-0 runs from the Rainbow Warriors moved the lead to 24-16 as Hawai'i withstood three straight set points from McKendree to take a 2-0 lead.
Schnittker and junior outside hitter Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) tabbed two kill apiece in the early stages of set three, but the Bearcats found themselves trailing by a score of 9-6. The Rainbow Warriors continued to roll with a 5-0 run to move ahead 14-6 before extending the lead to 16-7. McKendree attempted to rally with three straight points as Wilcox put down a kill and served up an ace followed by a kill from Schmidt. The Bearcats continued to rally as Schnittker and Patterson sandwiched kills around a block from Wilcox to pull within five at 20-15. Hawai'i was able to keep McKendree at an arm's length as the Rainbow Warriors used a 4-0 run to put the set out of reach as they sealed the match with a seven point win in set three.
