(LEBANON, Ill., Feb. 6) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team is set to close out its seven game road stretch with two matches, No. 11 Ball State University on Thursday and No. 15 Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday. These matches will mark the Bearcats start of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) conference play.
The Bearcats currently sit 3-4 overall on the season after going 2-1 in the Lindenwood Invitational this past weekend. McKendree defeated Lourdes, fell to the No. 1 team in the country, Long Beach State, and then swept Alderson Broaddus to earn that winning weekend record.
Offensive leaders for the Bearcats are sophomore outside hitter
Patrick Ross (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek), junior opposite
Zach Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove), and freshman outside hitter
Brendon Dunn (Sherman Oaks, CA/Notre Dame). Ross has accumulated 55 kills on the season, Schnittker has tallied 48, and Dunn is close behind with 38 total kills. Freshman setter
Ryan Serrano (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek) has set up the Bearcats 204 times this season and currently sits atop the leaderboard for McKendree in service aces with eight tallied on the season.
Defensive leaders for McKendree is senior libero
Zach Thompson (Defiance, MO/Francis Howell), Serrano, and Schnittker. Thompson has a total of 39 digs to lead the pack, Serrano follows with 36, and then Schnittker is right behind them with 33 recorded digs. At the net defensively for the Bearcats is sophomore middle blocker
Wyatt Dimke (Ham Lake, MN/Blaine), Serrano, and junior middle blocker
Lucas Galifos (Mokena,IL/Lincoln Way East). Dimke leads the blocking efforts with 23 total blocks with Serrano close behind at 22 total blocks. Galifos is next with 19 recorded blocks while Schnittker deserves an honorable mention as he leads the team in solo block with three tallied on the season.
McKendree will return back to the Statham Sports Center on Feb. 13 with a match against Lindenwood University at 7 p.m.
ABOUT BALL STATE:
The Ball State Cardinals currently sit 11
th in the NCAA Division I-II coaches poll with a 6-4 overall record and 1-0 in the MIVA after taking down Ohio State University. Outside attacker Kaleb Jenness leads the offensive efforts for the Cardinals with 118 total kills on the season. Outside hitter David Siebum and outside attacker Matt Szews are also offensive threats for Ball State. Siebum has tallied 103 total kills while Szews has 96. Setter Jake Romano has set up the Cardinals 320 times so far this season. The biggest competitor at the service line is Szews with 15 total service aces on the season. Defensively, libero Nick Lavanchy, Siebum, Jenness, and Szews are all key players in the back line. Lavanchy leads the way with 52 total digs, Seibum follows with 49, and Jenness and Szews are next, each with 46 total digs. At the net for the Cardinals defense is middle attacker Parker Swartz, middle attacker Lemuel Turner, and Szews. Swartz has recorded 35 total blocks on the season while Turner has 33 and Szews has 28.
ABOUT PURDUE FORT WAYNE:
Purdue Fort Wayne is ranked 15
th in the NCAA Division I-II coaches poll with a 6-4 overall record. The Mastodons are also 1-0 in MIVA competition after sweeping Ohio State. Preston Vargas is the Mastodons biggest offensive threat as he has recorded 147 kills on the season already. He is followed by opposite Colton Stone, middle blocker Richie Diedrich, and outside hitter Tony Price. Stone has tallied 95 total kills, Diedrich has recorded 65 kills, and Price is close behind with 64 total kills. Setter Michael Keegan has set up Purdue Fort Wayne 371 times so far this season. Stone and Vargas lead the team in service aces, Stone with 18 and Vargas with 14 total on the season. Defensive efforts are led by libero Kolbie Knorr, Vargas, and Keegan. Knorr has tallied 75 digs, Vargas is next with 62, and Keegan follows with 55 digs. At the net for the Mastodon's defense is Diedrich, middle blocker Tomas Gago, and Vargas. Diedrich leads the pack with 39 total blocks followed by Gago's 26 blocks, and then Vargas rounds it out with 24 total blocks.
