(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Oct. 18) – The McKendree University women's volleyball team defeated Ohio Dominican and Lake Erie College, both 3-1, to begin the Midwest Region Crossover in Indianapolis, Ind., on Friday. The Bearcats improve to 10-10 overall on the season.

McKendree began the day with a 3-1 win over Ohio Dominican. The Bearcats took the first set, 25-18. The Panthers answered back and evened the match out at one set a piece with a 25-22 win in the second set. McKendree powered throughout the third set, defeating Ohio Dominican, 25-15. From there, the Bearcats remained on top and took down the Panthers, 25-20 in the fourth set.

The Bearcats opened the second match in the same manner, taking down Lake Erie College, 25-18. McKendree and the Storm battled point-for-point in the second set for an immense, 35-33 final score where the Bearcats came out on top. Lake Erie College answered back and kept the match alive with a 25-15 win in the third set but the Bearcats earned the 3-1 victory with a 25-18 win in the fourth set.

Sophomore middle blocker Hope Gramly (Prosper, TX/Prosper) was a top performer for McKendree in both matches. The middle blocker led the Bearcats' offense in both matches, recording 10 kills for a .438 hitting percentage in the first match and then tallying 15 kills in the second set for a .333 hitting percentage.

Defensively, senior libero Alissa Zeitelhack (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) led the pack with 14 digs in the first match against Ohio Dominican and 15 digs in the second match against Lake Erie College.

As a team, the Bearcats recorded a season best of 20 service aces in the two matches. McKendree tallied 12 aces in the first set, a match high, and then eight service aces in the second match.

The Bearcats will close out competition at the Midwest Region Crossover Saturday with a match against Davenport University at 1 p.m. ET.