(LEBANON, Ill., Dec. 17) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team was selected fourth in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) preseason poll announced by the league Monday.
The Bearcats collected 35 points in the voting conducted by the leagues eight head coaches. Lewis University was selected to finish first with 63 points and seven of the eight first place votes. Purdue Fort Wayne was chosen to finish in second place and earned one of the eight first place votes. The third and final team selected above McKendree is Loyola with 46 points.
The full 2020 MIVA Preseason Poll:
| Team |
Points (1st Place Votes) |
| 1. Lewis |
63 (7) |
| 2. Purdue Fort Wayne |
52 (1) |
| 3. Loyola |
46 |
| 4. McKendree |
36 |
| 5. Ohio State |
35 |
| 6. Ball State |
29 |
| 7. Lindenwood |
19 |
| 8. Quincy |
8 |
Alongside the preseason poll, the league also announced Preseason All-MIVA team members. McKendree had three members selected for the preseason honor; Redshirt junior middle blocker
Wyatt Dimke (Ham Lake, MN/Blaine), senior opposite
Zach Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove), and redshirt sophomore
Ryan Serrano (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek). Based on last season's performance, Dimke was named First-Team All-MIVA, Schnittker was named Second-Team All-MIVA, and Serrano was named Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-MIVA at the end of the 2019 season.
Last season, McKendree posted its best finish in program history with a 13-13 overall record and a 7-7 conference finish. The Bearcats were selected as a host school for the MIVA quarterfinals with their fourth place finish, another program first. The team defeated Ball State University, 3-2 to move on and face Lewis in the semifinals. McKendree ultimately fell, 3-0 to Lewis who went on to be a 2019 NCAA Tournament semifinalist.
The Bearcats are set to begin their season with the University of California - Santa Barbara Asics Invitational. McKendree will take on CSUN, No. 4 Long Beach State University, and tournament host, UCSB, Jan. 9-11.
The first set of home matches for McKendree will be Jan. 17-18 against New Jersey Institute of Technology and Saint Francis University. The first conference competition for the Bearcats will be against the 2019 NCAA semifinalist and No. 6 Lewis in Romeoville, Ill., Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.
