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(Lebanon, Ill., April 5) -- The Bearcats are currently fifth in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association standings heading into the final week of regular season play. They will travel to Indiana to face the Ball State University Cardinals on Friday and the Fort Wayne Mastodons on Saturday.

McKendree split a pair of conference contests at home last week, which included its first win in program history against the nationally ranked Lewis University Flyers on Thursday, and they now sit at 11-12 overall and 6-6 in MIVA action.

The Bearcats offense is led by two seniors, in Jared Wilcox and Nolan Rueter. Wilcox has averaged a team best 3.04 kills per set, while Rueter leads McKendree in total kills with 245 on the season. Senior setter Pasquale Fiduccia is third in the MIVA in assists, averaging over ten per set.

Red-shirt senior middle hitter Brendan Schmidt (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) has recorded 87 total blocks for a per-set average of one to lead the Bearcats at the net defensively. Junior libero Zach Thompson is the reigning MIVA Defensive Player of the Week and has been outstanding in the backcourt for McKendree, ranking in the conference top five for digs with 197 on the year.
 

#12 Ball State University Cardinals (15-11, 8-4 MIVA)
The Cardinals are coming off of a successful weekend after defeating Quincy and Lindenwood at home to move up to 3^rd place in the MIVA standings. Ball State currently leads the conference in digs, averaging 10.32 per set as a team.

Sophomore outside hitter Matt Szews leads Ball State in kills, averaging 2.87 per set, while senior middle Matt Walsh is ranked second in the MIVA in blocking, averaging 1.12 total per set. Sophomore setter Jake Romano has collected 727 assists and senior outside hitter Mitch Weiler has amassed a team leading two digs per set average.

The Bearcats were victorious in the previous meeting this season between the schools, winning in four sets on February 10 in Lebanon.
 

#15 Fort Wayne Mastodons (17-9, 5-7 MIVA)
The Mastodons also defeated Quincy and Lindenwood over the weekend, and are currently sixth in the MIVA standings. They have more than tripled their win total from a season ago, after winning only five matches in 2017.

Sophomore outside hitter Pelegrin Vargas leads the conference in kills with an average of 3.81 per set, while freshman middle Tomas Gago leads Fort Wayne in blocks with 82 total on the season. Junior setter Michael Keegan has contributed 9.76 assists and 2.33 digs per set, leading his team in both categories.

The Mastodons defeated McKendree in their only previous meeting this season, winning in five sets on February 7 in Lebanon.