QUINCY, Ill. - The McKendree University women's volleyball team continued its final road trip of the 2021 season here Saturday afternoon by falling in three sets to Quincy University (20-25, 14-15, 14-25) in Great Lakes Valley Conference action at Pepsi Arena. 

With the loss, McKendree dropped its overall record to 8-17 and 4-10 in the league, while Quincy improved to 15-12 overall and 9-7 in the league. Saturday's setback came less than 24 hours after the Bearcats suffered a three-set loss on Friday at Maryville University. 

Sophomore outside hitter Brianna Binder (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge) led the way offensively for the Bearcats with 12 kills and seven digs, while sophomore outside hitter Colleen Preusser (St. Charles, Mo./Lutheran) and junior outside hitter Maddie Misner (Makanda, Ill./Carbondale) each had seven kills and a combined 14 digs. 

For the second straight match, the Bearcats hit under .100 for the match as they hit .057 against the Hawks, including hitting under .050 in the two of the three sets. Quincy hit .265 for the match and recorded 35 kills and hit over .300 in the final two sets. 

Defensively, McKendree had 40 digs and five total blocks as freshman libero Keely Davis (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute North Vigo) had a team-high 10 digs, while freshman setter Catie Shane (Evansville, Ind./Francis J. Reitz) added eight digs and 25 assists. Preusser and freshman middle blocker Kristen Vacca (Stoney Creek, Ontario/Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School) each had three block assists and junior middle blocker Sarah Porter (Gifford, Ill./Millikin) had two blocks. 

Quincy was paced by a 12 kill performance by Alyssa Grimm. In addition to Grimm, Emily Rehagen added nine kills and eight digs. Makayla Knoblauch paced the Hawks defense with 10 digs and added 28 assists and two service aces. 

In the opening set, Quincy jumped out to an 13-7 lead before the Bearcats used a 6-3 run to pull within 16-13 following a kill by Preusser. Following the Bearcats' run, QU used a 6-4 run to push its lead to 22-17. McKendree would score of the next five points to pull within 24-20 following an block assist by Vacca and Preusser, before QU closed out the 25-20 set win with a service error by Binder. In the set, McK hit .043 with 10 kills, while QU hit .136 with 11 kills.

The second set belonged to Quincy as the Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led 10-3 when the Bearcats used back-to-back kills by Preusser and Misner to drop QU's lead to 10-5. That would be as close as the Bearcats would get in the set as QU answered with an 11-6 run to push out to a 21-11 lead. A kill by Binder stopped the Hawks run, before QU closed out the set by scoring four of the final six points to post a 25-14 win. In the set, McKendree hit .259 and had 12 kills, while QU hit .440 with 12 kills. 

After QU opened the third set by scoring the first two points, the Bearcats would answer by scoring five of the next six points to take a 5-3 lead. The Hawks, though, responded with a 13-2 run to push out to a 16-7 lead. The Hawks lead eventually grew to 22-10 following a kill by Grimm, before McK used kills by Preusser and Misner to cut QU's lead to 23-12. The Hawks would cap the set by scoring two of the final four points to post the 25-14 set win. The final set featured three ties and two lead changes. In the set, the Bearcats hit -.094 with seven kills, while QU hit .310 with 12 kills. 

McKendree will conclude the three-match road swing this coming Tuesday, Nov. 9 as they travel to Indianapolis, Ind., for a 6 p.m. GLVC match against the University of Indianapolis. The Greyhounds earned a three set win over the Bearcats at the Convocation Center in Lebanon, Ill., on Oct. 22.