(Lebanon, IL. Apr. 8) – The McKendree University men's volleyball wrapped up the regular season Saturday night in St. Charles, MO with a 3-1 win over Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association foe Lindenwood University. The Bearcats won by scores of 19-25, 26-24, 25-16, and 25-18.

The win improves McKendree to 11-18 overall and 6-10 in league play. The Bearcats will now head to Phoenix, AZ for the first round of the MIVA Tournament as McKendree clinched the No. 6 seed and will take on the No. 3 seeded Antelopes of Grand Canyon University. The meeting will mark the second straight post season appearance for the Bearcats.

Senior opposite Maalik Walker (Shorewood, IL/Minooka) put down a team high 11 kills in the win to go with four digs and two blocks. Junior outside hitter Nolan Rueter (Burlington, WI/Burlington) tallied 10 kills, five digs, and three blocks. Senior middle blocker Wyatt Patterson (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) hit .778 from the field, converting seven of his nine attacks to pair with three blocks.

Junior setter Pasquale Fiduccia (Hanover Park, IL/Glenbard North) notched 32 assists along with seven digs and five blocks. Junior middle blocker Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) put down 10 blocks, including three solos.
Junior outside hitter Jared Wilcox (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) added six kills and six digs, while sophomore libero Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell) stuck 11 digs from the back row for McKendree.

The Lions sandwiched a three and four point run around three straight points from the Bearcats to take a 7-3 lead in the opening set. An ace from Fiduccia followed by kills from Rueter, Patterson, and Walker pulled McKendree within one at 10-9, but Lindenwood followed with three straight to jump back on top at 13-9. A 5-1 run from the Bearcats sparked by a kill from Walker evened the set at 14 all, before Lindenwood was able to strike back by moving ahead 18-16. The Lions followed with a 3-0 run and went on to take seven of the next nine points to earn the first set.

The teams traded the first 16 points of set two as Rueter and Fiduccia recorded a pair of kills each. A 5-2 spree from McKendree gave the Bearcats a 13-10 lead, but a 4-0 run from Lindenwood put the Lions on top 15-14. McKendree responded with three straight kills from Walker, Patterson, and Wilcox, before two more scores from Walker gave the Bearcats a 19-17 advantage. Lindenwood rallied with three a 3-0 run to take a 21-20 lead before trading points as the set shifted to 24-23 in favor of the Lions. Wilcox tied the set with a kill before back to back blocks from Fiduccia and Schmidt closed set two for McKendree.

Patterson and Wilcox landed kills around a block from Schmidt as the Bearcats continued to roll in set there with a 4-2 lead. Lindenwood struck back with a 3-0 run to go ahead by one, but McKendree wouldn't be out done using an 8-2 run that featured a trio of kills from Rueter to open a 12-7 lead. The Bearcats put the set out of reach with an 8-1 run as McKendree took a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set with a nine point win in the third.

The Bearcats used a pair of 5-2 sprees to open set four as Wilcox recorded a kill and an ace and Schmidt added a kill and a block. The Lions worked back into the set at 13-12, but McKendree used back to back kills from Walker to kick off a 5-1 run as the Bearcats moved ahead 17-13. The teams traded points as McKendree maintained a four point lead at 21-17 before closing out the set and the match on a 4-1 run as Schmidt tallied two more blocks to seal the deal.