(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 30) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team is set to compete in the Lindenwood Invitational, its first tournament of the 2019 season, this weekend Feb. 1-3 in St. Charles. Mo.
The Bearcats will take on Lourdes University Friday Feb. 1 at 1 p.m., then will face the No. 1 team in the country, Long Beach State, Saturday at 1 p.m., and will wrap up tournament play with a match against Alderson Broaddus University Sunday at 10 a.m.
McKendree is 1-3 overall on the season after falling to Penn State and Saint Francis University this past weekend. The Bearcats remained competitive in each match, forcing the Nittany Lions into extra points in the first set and then winning the first set against the Red Flash but ultimately lost 3-0 against Penn State and 3-1 against Saint Francis.
Offensive leaders for the Bearcats are sophomore outside hitter
Patrick Ross (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek), freshman outside hitter
Brendon Dunn (Sherman Oaks, CA/Notre Dame), and junior opposite
Zach Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove). Ross has accumulated 42 kills on the season, Dunn has 30, and Schnittker is close behind with 29 kills. Sophomore middle hitter
Wyatt Dimke (Ham Lake, MN/Blaine) leads the team with three service aces on the season.
Defensively, senior libero
Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell), Schnittker, and freshman setter
Ryan Serrano (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek) lead the team in digs, Thompson with 23, Schnittker with 24, and Serrano with 20. At the net for the Bearcats' defense is junior
Lucas Galifos (Mokena,IL/Lincoln Way East) and
Wyatt Dimke (Ham Lake, MN/Blaine), each with 16 total blocks. Serrano is also a key defensive player at the net with 14 total blocks.
The Bearcats will begin Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) competition with a match against Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.
ABOUT LOURDES UNIVERSITY:
Lourdes University is 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC). Outside hitter Evan Gebert leads the team in kills with 55 on the season, outside hitter Ricardo Gehrke is next with 47 kills, and outside hitter Jeff Lam has a strong 32 kills. Setter Henrique Gehrke has set up the Gray Wolves 159 times. Services aces are dispersed amongst the Gray Wolves with Lam being the only outlier with seven total aces on the season. Defensive efforts for Lourdes are led by outside hitter Matheus Andrade with 31 digs followed by Henrique Gehrke and Ricardo Gehrke, each with 22 total digs. Blocking efforts are led by middle blocker Brendon Brown and middle blocker Lance Blough, Brown with 14 total blocks and Blough with 11.
ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE UNIVERSITY:
Long Beach State University currently sits No. 1 in the AVCA coaches association poll with an undefeated 7-0 record overall on the season. Offensive leaders for Long Beach State are outside hitter TJ DeFalco with 77 killls, opposite Klye Ensing with 74, outside hitter Louis Richard with 43, and then middle blocker Simon Andersen with 42. Ensing is also the team leader in service aces with 15 recorded on the season. Setter Josh Tuaniga set up Long Beach State 237 times so far this season. Defensive efforts are led by libero Jordan Molina, Tuaniga, and DeFalco. Molina has 47 recorded digs, Tuaniga has collected 38, and Molina has a total of 39 digs on the season. Blocking leaders for Long Beach State are middle blocker Nick Amado with 18 total blocks, DelFaco with 16, and Andersen with 15.
ABOUT ALDERSON BROADDUS UNIVERSITY:
Alderson Broaddus University is 0-5 on the 2019 season. Offensive leaders for the Battlers are Cameron Snaden with 63 total kills, followed by middle blocker Chase Christiansen with 33, and then middle blocker Terrell Hightower with 30. Setter Moses Kresch has set up Alderson Broaddus 100 times throughout the five matches so far with notable help from libero Andres Luna who has 46 recorded assists. Defensive leaders for the Battlers are Luna and Snaden, each with 37 total digs followed by Rafael Ortiz with 27, and Kresch with 24. The main blockers for Alderson Broaddus are Christainsen with 18, Hightower with 15, and opposite Paul Kaske with 11 total blocks.
