(Lebanon, Ill., Sept. 30) -- The McKendree women's volleyball team took down the Bellarmine University Knights (12-3, 3-3 GLVC) with an impressive performance, earning the sweep 25-18, 28-26, 25-17. With the victory, the Bearcats improve to 11-3 on the season, and remain undefeated in Great Lakes Valley Conference play at 6-0. 

Senior outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) hit .310, and put away a team leading 17 kills. Another senior, right-side hitter Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran), contributed 13 kills, and led the Bearcats with 19 digs. The Tomball, TX native also led the team in blocks, putting down eight total. Junior setter Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) had 11 digs and 35 assists.

The Bearcats were outstanding at the net as a team, as they had 25 total blocks, with senior Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) and sophomore Megan Marks (Colgate, WI/Germantown) combining for 13. Sophomore Kelly Voss (St. Rose, IL/Mater Dei) collected 13 digs, while freshman outside hitter Elle Russell (Festus, MO/St. Pius X) had 11.

The first set was a back and forth battle in the early stages, until the Bearcats got hot, scoring eight of the last 10 points, to take it 25-18. McKendree had 17 kills in the set, making it fitting that Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) put it away with a kill.

The second set remained tightly contested all the way until the end, as the largest lead for either team was three points. A kill by Abbie Oetting gave the Knights set point at 24-23, but that was fought-off with an Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) kill. The Bearcats then earned three match points, and finally put it away, 28-26, to take a two-set advantage.

McKendree raced to a 10-4 lead in the third, and would eventually build a seven point advantage over Bellarmine late. Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) finished off the sweep with her fourth kill of the set.

The Bearcats are taking a 10-game winning streak into next week, in which they have three more GLVC matches. They will travel to Drury University on Tuesday to take on the current GLVC West Division leader, before heading to Quincy University on Friday, and the University of Illinois Springfield on Saturday. All three matches will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network. The 10-match win streak is the longest for the Bearcats since completing the transition to NCAA Division II in 2013.