(Romeoville, Ill., March 16) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team suffered a road sweep to the No. 7 Flyers of Lewis University Thursday night in a Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association road match up. The Bearcats fell by scores of 27-25, 25-21, and 25-13.

The loss dips McKendree to 7-15 overall and 2-7 in MIVA play. The Bearcats return to action Sunday against No. 10 Loyola University Chicago at 4 p.m. in Chicago, IL.

Senior opposite Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) paced McKendree with a match high 13 kills. Senior middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) added four kills and three blocks. Junior middle blocker Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West), junior outside hitter Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington), and sophomore outside hitter Will Frank (Moro, IL/Edwardsville) each added a trio of kills, with Schmidt tabbing five blocks and Rueter landing seven digs, while Frank tallied three digs and two blocks. Junior setter Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) dished out 25 assists to go with five digs and two blocks and sophomore libero Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) stuck four digs from the back row.

Walker and Rueter each put down a pair of kills to give McKendree an early 8-6 lead. The teams traded 3-0 run as the Flyers took a 9-8 lead before a kill from Walker and an ace from Frank put the Bearcats back on top at 11-9. Lewis countered with three more points to go up 15-13, before a kill from Walker tied the set at 15. A 4-1 run from McKendree put the Bearcats ahead 19-18 after kills from Fiduccia, Walker and Patterson all scored. The teams traded 3-0 sprees as the set shifted to 22-21 until a 3-1 run from Lewis forced set point at 24-23. McKendree rallied to tie the set at 24 and again at 25, but the Flyers held on earning the final two points of the set to take a 1-0 lead.

A kill from Walker followed by back to back blocks from Schmidt gave the Bearcats a 3-2 lead to open set two. Lewis followed with a 5-1 run to take a 7-4 lead, but McKendree rallied with a 7-2 run after Schmidt, Patterson, and Walker all tallied kills. The Flyers shot back with a 5-0 run to go up 14-11 before moving ahead 19-15. McKendree used a 3-1 run to slash the lead to 21-19, but Lewis followed with four of the next five points to take a 2-0 lead.

The Flyers used a pair of 4-0 runs to jump ahead 13-7 in set three. McKendree battled back with three of the next four points, but Lewis halted the run after three straight errors from the Bearcats followed by a 5-0 run to close the match and earn the win.