(LEBANON, Ill., Jan. 17) – The McKendree University men's volleyball team opened its 2020 home season with a five-set thriller, defeating New Jersey Institute of Technology 3-2. The Bearcats improve to 2-2 overall on the season.

McKendree had a smooth start to the match collecting two wins early on over the Highlanders, 25-22 in the first set and 25-23 in the second set. NJIT answered back with two set wins of their own, taking the third set 25-22 and the fourth set 25-23 to force a fifth set.

The Bearcats found themselves down 6-3 to start the fifth set but were able to regroup and go on a four-point run themselves to take the lead 7-4. McKendree and NJIT went point-for-point until the Bearcats recorded back-to-back points to win the fifth set 17-15 and the match 3-2.

Senior opposite Zach Schnittker (Arlington Heights, IL/Buffalo Grove) was the lone Bearcats to tally double-digit kills in the match with 15 total on the night. Junior middle blocker Wyatt Dimke (Ham Lake, MN/Blaine), junior outside hitter Patrick Ross (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek), and junior outside hitter Ethan Carroll (Barrington, IL/Barrington) were all impact players for McKendree's offense, tallying eight kills each. Dimke recorded the highest hitting percentage of any Bearcat, going eight for 11 with only one error or .636 percent.

Defensively, sophomore setter Ryan Serrano (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek) led the team as the lone double-digit player for McKendree with 10 digs on the night. Sophomore libero Francisco Comas (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley High School) was also a key defender for the Bearcats tallying eight digs in the match. Dimke, Serrano, and senior middle blocker Lucas Galifos (Mokena,IL/Lincoln Way East) each put up four block assists for McKendree to help support the defensive efforts as well.

The Bearcats will resume competition with a match against Saint Francis on Saturday, Jan. 18 at home. First serve is set for 7 p.m.