(Quincy, Ill., Sept. 8) -- The Mckendree women's volleyball team won a pair of matches to kick-off the 2017 Quincy Volleyball Invitational. With their performance on Friday, the Bearcats improve to 3-3 overall on the season.

In their first match of the day, McKendree took on Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats (2-4). The first two sets were closely contested, with McKendree coming out victorious in both by scores of 25-23. They finished the sweep by taking the third set 25-21.

In set number one, both teams traded points early-on. After McKendree tied up the score at 5 a-piece off a kill by Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran), they never trailed again the remainder of the set. A kill by freshman Kamryn Carter (Brentwood,TN/Brentwood) gave the Bearcats their biggest lead of the set at 22-18. Northwest Missouri State then called a timeout, and clawed their way back to within a point, however, Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) sealed the first set with her sixth kill, adding to an outstanding team hitting percentage of .533 for the set.

In set number two, McKendree got off to a quick start, scoring the first four points. A kill by Kamryn Carter (Brentwood,TN/Brentwood) gave the Bearcats their biggest lead of the set at 10-4. From that point, Northwest Missouri State went on a 9-3 run, tying up the set at 13, and eventually taking the lead at 20-19 after a service ace by Darcy Sunderman. The Bearcats' traded points with each other until an attack error gave McKendree a set point and senior Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) put it away with a kill.

In the third set, McKendree once again came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 9-0 advantage. Northwest Missouri State cut into the lead with a four-point run halfway through the set, but were only able to come within three points of the Bearcats. After their opponent fought off two match points, Megan Marks (Colgate, WI/Germantown) put a bow on the McKendree sweep with a kill. In the set, the Bearcats held Northwest Missouri State to a .065 overall hitting percentage.

Senior outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) led the McKendree offense, putting down 15 kills and hitting .297% in a winning effort. Another senior, Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran), hustled on defense, collecting a team leading 15 digs, along with nine kills. Junior setter Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) added to her assists season total with 35, and also contributed eight digs.

The Bearcats then faced the Wayne State University Warriors (3-3). They built a two set advantage, with 25-22 and 25-18 victories. The Warriors handled the third set 25-16 and then McKendree finished off the match 3-1 by taking the fourth, 25-17.

In the first set, both teams traded points, with neither of them going up by more than two until an attack error by Hailey Richardson gave McKendree a 19-16 advantage, forcing the Warriors to take their last time out of the set. Wayne State battled back to tie it up at 22 all, but McKendree quickly responded with three straight points to win the set, which was capped off by an Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) kill.

The second was controlled by the Bearcats, as they took the first point with a kill from Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day), and never relinquished the lead for the entirety of the set. They built an eight-point advantage at 18-10, and went on to comfortably take the set with a kill from Kamryn Carter (Brentwood,TN/Brentwood).

In set number three, Wayne State turned the tables on the Bearcats, as they controlled the majority of play. The Warriors jumped out to an early seven-point lead, at 12-5. McKendree then responded with four straight points to cut into the lead, however Wayne State finished off the set with a 13-7 run.

The momentum switched again in the fourth, as Williams and Geiger combined for a total of 14 kills in the set. The Warriors were able to stay close early on, until McKendree built a 19-14 advantage with the help of three straight points. From that point on, Wayne State could only come within three points of the Bearcats, who would fittingly solidify the win with a kill from Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day).

Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) had an outstanding outing, recording a season-high 21 kills, which helped her earn a team leading .340 hitting percentage. Sophomore Kelly Voss (St. Rose, IL/Mater Dei) led the team in digs, with a season-high 17. Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) was another important piece to the Bearcats victory, as she put down 15 kills and was second in digs, with 11. McKendree as a team earned a season game-high of 50 total kills, averaging 48 per-match on the day.

The Bearcats will be back in action tomorrow, with two more games at the Quincy Volleyball Invitational. They will take on the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons at 2 pm, and Great Lakes Valley Conference foe, the Quincy University Hawks at 7 pm. Once again, both matches will be available for live streaming at http://www.glvcsn.com/quincy/.