(LEBANON, Ill., March 23) -- The McKendree University men's volleyball team pulled off  a 3-1 upset over No. 11 Ball State University Thursday evening inside the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats won by scores of 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, and 25-23.

The win bumps McKendree to 8-16 overall and 3-8 in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. The Bearcats return to the court Saturday at 7 p.m. when they play host to Indiana University Purdue University-Fort Wayne. Saturdays contest will mark the first senior day in program history as the Bearcats honor eight seniors from its inaugural class.

Senior opposite Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) and sophomore outside hitter Will Frank (Moro, IL/Edwardsville) each put down a match high 16 kills with Walker adding seven digs and two blocks, while Frank tabbed five digs and four blocks. Senior middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) and junior middle blocker Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) each added six kills Patterson putting down a trio of kills and Schmidt stuffing a match high seven blocks.

Junior setter Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) dished out 41 assists to go with 13 digs and three blocks. Junior outside hitter Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) went five of six from the field for a .833 attack percentage and sophomore libero Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) stuck five digs from the back row for McKendree.

The Cardinals bolted out to a 12-3 in the opening set, but the Bearcats used a 4-0 run to work back in the set at 12-7. McKendree continued to battle, using a 5-1 run after kills from Frank and Walker slashed the lead to two at 16-14. Patterson followed with a kill to spark a 3-0 run that cut the margin to 19-18. Ball State pushed back with four of the next five points to go ahead 23-19. The Bearcats bounced back with three points after back-to-back blocks from Schmidt, but the Cardinals landed a pair of kills to close set one and take a 1-0 lead.

Walker used a pair of kills and Frank added a block to give McKendree a 4-3 to open set two. The Cardinals rallied with a  4-1 run to go ahead 10-8, but the Bearcats countered with five kills in the next seven points, including a pair from Frank to take a 14-12 lead.  Ball State used a 3-0 run to jump ahead 21-20, but a kill from Frank and a block from Schmidt put McKendree back on top at 22-21. Walker followed with two more kills to close out set two and tie the match at 1-1.

Frank put down a trio of kills and a block to open set three and give the Bearcats a 5-1 lead. Walker and Patterson followed with back-to-back kills to move ahead 7-2. Ball State worked back into the set at 11-8, but a kill and an ace from Frank sparked a 4-1 run capped off on a kill from Patterson to extend the lead to six at 15-9. A 4-0 reply from the Cardinals cut the lead to two at 15-13, but Patterson responded with a kill and a block to keep Ball State at an arm's length with a 17-13 advantage. The Cardinals continued to rally with a 6-2 run that tied the set at 19, but Frank and Schmidt tallied kills on consecutive points to give the Bearcats a 22-20 lead and force a timeout from the Cardinals. Ball State took two of the next three points to pull within one at 23-22 before Wilcox and Patterson connected on back-to-back swings to close set three.

Frank scored three times and Schmidt and Walker each added one of their own as the teams battled to at 10-10 start in set four. Ball State used a 4-1 spree to take a 17-14 edge before the Bearcats flipped the script with four of the next five points to tie things at 18. Frank and Wilcox landed kills and freshman setter Zach Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove) scorched an ace to put McKendree ahead 21-20. The Cardinals responded with a 3-0 run to jump ahead 23-21, but the Bearcats roared back with the final four points of the set after Wilcox and Patterson combined for a block, followed by and ace from Walker, before a kill from Wilcox sewed up the match and completed the upset.