LIVE STATS
WATCH LIVE
 
(Lebanon, Ill., Feb. 1) – McKendree University men's volleyball will play its first of thirteen home matches this weekend, as they will face the #10 Grand Canyon University Antelopes in a non-conference contest on Saturday at 7pm inside the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. The Bearcats will then host the Fort Wayne Mastodons in their Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association home opener on Wednesday evening.

McKendree has won three matches in row, and opened conference action with a sweep at Lindenwood back on January 18, improving their overall record to 3-4. The Bearcats are ranked fourth in the latest Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Division II men's volleyball coaches' poll, which came out on Tuesday.

Red-shirt senior Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) leads the Bearcats in blocks (1.17 per set), points (3.65 per set) and service aces (12). He is hitting .505 with an average of 2.50 kills per set, just behind freshman outside hitter Patrick Ross, who has recorded 72 kills, for an average of 2.88 per set through seven matches, to go along with 32 digs.

A pair of senior Bearcats, Nolan Rueter and Jared Wilcox, are both averaging more than two kills per set, with Rueter also averaging 1.33 digs per set. Junior libero Zach Thompson leads McKendree defensively, as he is currently averaging 1.72 digs per set.

Senior setter Pasquale Fiduccia has contributed a team high 236 assists, for a per-set average of just under ten. Fiduccia has also compiled 29 digs and 15 blocks so far in 2018. Red-shirt freshman Wyatt Dimke is averaging 1.56 kills per set, and has also put down 15 total blocks.
 
Grand Canyon University Antelopes (8-2, 0-0 MPSF)
The Lopes picked up two wins over the weekend, defeating UC San Diego in four sets before sweeping Ottawa University. They are currently ranked #10 in the AVCA Division I-II men's volleyball poll.

The Antelopes are former members of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, before joining the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this season. They lead the overall series with the Bearcats 7-1, and they last met in the 2017 MIVA Quarterfinals, which GCU won in four sets.

Grand Canyon boasts three attackers averaging three or more kills per set, in senior outside hitters Cody Williams and Shalev Saada, and junior outside hitter Will Schwob. Williams leads the Antelopes with ten service aces, while Saada and Schwob are both averaging around 1.50 digs per set.

Senior libero Sky Engleman leads the Lopes in digs, averaging 1.71 per set, while setter Puna Kaniho has collected 282 assists to along with 37 digs. Sophomore Caleb Blazer and red-shirt senior Ashton King are the top blockers for GCU, as they have combined for 64 total blocks on the season. They are also both averaging over a kill per set through ten matches.
 
 
Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (7-0, 0-0 MIVA)
The Mastodons have already won more games this season then in all of 2017, as they were victorious in their first seven matches of the 2018 schedule. IPFW is currently ranked fifteenth in the AVCA Division I-II men's volleyball poll that was released on Tuesday. They have played against the Bearcats six times over the last four years, with both teams winning three times.

Sophomore outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas leads the Mastodons on offense, averaging 3.86 kills per set, and adding 28 digs. Red-shirt junior Colton Stone is averaging more than three kills and 1.67 digs per set, while outside hitter Tony Price has earned 47 kills and 26 digs so far on the season.

Junior setter Michael Keegan is ranked first on his team in both assists (10.33 per set) and digs (2.83 per set). Junior libero Kolbie Knorr is second behind Keegan in digs, with 39. Sophomore Richie Diedrich and Freshman Tomas Gago have combined for 47 total blocks and 65 kills. Gago leads the nation in total blocks, averaging 1.44 per set.