(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 8) – The McKendree University women's volleyball team defeated Maryville University, 3-0 on Friday. The Bearcats improve to 12-14 overall on the season and 5-7 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).

McKendree powered past Maryville, 25-16 in the opening set. The Bearcats and the Saints went point-for-point to open the second set until McKendree pulled away and went on a seven-point run late in the set to earn a 25-17 victory over Maryville. Momentum remained with the Bearcats heading into the third set as senior middle blocker Megan Marks (Colgate, WI/Germantown) went on a seven-point serving run followed shortly by an eight-point serving run by junior defensive specialist Alex Tinnin (Festus, MO/Festus). McKendree ended up claiming the third set, 25-13 and the match, 3-0.

Sophomore middle blocker Hope Gramly (Prosper, TX/Prosper) shined for the Bearcats hitting at .500 percent and recording seven total blocks. In the three set match, Gramly collected eight kills, one block solo, and six block assists.

Another key player for McKendree was junior setter Gracie Marr (Castle Rock, CO/Castle View). Marr went four for four on the attack line with 31 assists for the offense. Defensively, Marr led the pack alongside senior libero Alissa Zeitelhack (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West), each recording 10 digs.

Other impact players for McKendree were freshman outside hitter Maddie Misner (Carbondale, IL/Carbondale), senior outside hitter Kelly Voss (St. Rose, IL/Mater Dei), and freshman libero Amanda Tippett (O'Fallon, MO./St. Dominic ). Misner led the Bearcats offense with 10 kills on the night while Voss and Tippett were key defensive players, each with seven digs.

McKendree will close out its four game home stand with a match on Saturday Nov. 9 against Missouri S&T. There will be a senior ceremony prior to the match starting at 3 p.m.