LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University women's volleyball steps out of Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend as the Bearcats travel to Hammond, Ind., to compete in the 14th Annual Midwest Region Crossover held at the Hammond Sportsplex.

The annual crossover event, which is sponsored by the South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority and is billed as the largest collegiate volleyball tournament in the nation, features 54 matches being played by 36 teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

McKendree opens the two-day event with an 11:30 a.m. match on Friday, Oct. 14 against Wisconsin-Parkside, before facing Tiffin and Walsh on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. respectively.

For those attending the event, tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for those 65 years or older for a single session. For adults, a two-day tournament pass can be purchased for $20. Children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.

For fans unable to attend, there will be live streaming coverage provided by Baller.tv for a fee. A complete tournament, all-events pass is available for $39.

The Bearcats come into the Midwest Region Crossover sporting an 8-10 overall record and are alone in seventh place in the GLVC standings with a 4-4 record. The Bearcats, though, have won two of their last three matches overall, including picking up a four-set win at home last Saturday over Southwest Baptist. The top eight teams in the league at the end of the regular season advance to the GLVC Tournament, which is scheduled for Nov. 10-12 at the Eastside Centre in Peoria, Ill.

This year's crossover event has adopted a new schedule format as six different courts will be utilized during the nine sessions in the Hammond Sportsplex facility. Each conference member institution was seeded using a 40-percent weight on conference standings and 60-percent weight on each team's Massey Ratings – a performance-based rating analytic of methodology. The G-MAC and GLVC have 13 teams competing, while the GLIAC has 10 schools competing this weekend.  

MCK's MIDWEST REGION CROSSOVER HISTORY
Since joining the GLVC and the Division II level in 2012, McKendree has played 27 total matches in the Midwest Region Crossover and has posted an all-time record of 14-13, including going 2-1 at last year's event. The Bearcats have gone 2-1 at the event six times, while going 1-2 twice and 0-3 at the 2016 event. Last season, McKendree opened with a 3-1 win over Purdue-Northwest, before earning a 3-1 win over Malone and then suffering a 3-1 loss to Tiffin.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS
The Bearcats have led offensively this season by junior outside hitters Brianna Binder (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge) and Colleen Preusser (St. Charles, Mo./Lutheran). That pair have combined to record 423 kills, 473 digs, 59 blocks, 40 aces and are hitting a combined .160 on the season. Binder leads the team, is fifth in the league in kills per set as she is averaging 3.46 kills, 3.67 digs per set, is third in attacks per set (10.49), and hits .181, while Preusser is averaging 2.63 kills and 3.14 digs per set. In addition, those two have combined for 20 double-doubles as Binder leads the way with 12 and Preusser has had eight on the year. Both those players have recorded double-doubles in three consecutive matches.

Three other Bearcats, who are coached by Nickie Sanlin, have recorded 90 or more kills on the season as senior middle blocker Claire Diercks (Highland, Ill./Highland) has had 112 kills and is hitting .221, while freshman outside hitter Lauren Harris (Woodlawn, Ill./Woodlawn) has recorded 94 kills and is hitting .221 and junior middle blocker Lauren McCurley (Troy, Ill./Triad) has had 91 kills, is hitting a team-best .236 and is third in the GLVC in blocks with 77.

The Bearcats offense is directed by sophomore setter Amber Williams (Aurora, Colo./Rhodes College) as she is third in the GLVC in assists per set as she averages 10.09 per set and is also averaging 2.56 digs per set and has had 20 blocks, 37 kills, and eight aces on the year. She has also recorded nine double-doubles, which is second-most on the team.

Defensively, the Bearcats are fourth in the GLVC in digs per set as they are averaging 17.20 per set and are eight in the league in blocks per set as they are averaging 1.89 per set. Additionally, McKendree's foes are hitting .186 on the year.

McCurley is third in the league in blocks pet set at 1.13 as she has had five or more blocks in a match eight times, including a high of 10 blocks in the win over Michigan Tech. Along with McCurley, Diercks is second in blocks with 42 and is averaging 0.60 per set. Five other Bearcats have had double-digit blocks on the year as Binder has had 30, Pruesser has had 29, Williams has had 20, Harris has had 16 and senior outside hitter Maddie Misner (Carbondale, Ill./Carbondale) 11 blocks on the year.

As a team, McKendree has recorded 882 kills, 1,204 digs, 132.5 blocks and 95 aces and is hitting .173 as a team. The Bearcats are third in the GLVC and 16th nationally in Division II in team attacks per set as they are averaging 38.21 per set.

ABOUT PARKSIDE (7-12, 2-9 GLIAC)
Parkside comes into this weekend's action having lost six straight matches as the Rangers are sporting a 7-12 overall record and a 2-9 in the GLIAC. Parkside hasn't won a match since collecting a 3-1 home win over Purdue Northwest on Sept. 20. One of Parkside's seven wins came earlier this season over the Bearcats in four sets at Parkside's own Hampton Inn Invitational on Labor Day weekend.

Leading the way offensively for Parkside is senior outside hitter Reese Rossangel, who is averaging 3.06 kills per set, has had 21 aces and is hitting .234, while redshirt senior right side hitter Jazmine Neal is averaging 2.86 kills, and is hitting .294.

Defensively, sophomore outside hitter Elizabeth Truckenbrod is averaging 3.23 digs per set and leads the team with 30 aces, while sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Krznarich leads the team in blocks with 70 and is averaging 1.00 blocks per set.

The Rangers use a two-setter system as junior Karlee Lois is the primary setter as she is averaging 5.31 assists and 2.29 digs per set and has had 10 aces, while senior Alysha Brickl is averaging 3.57 assists and 2.19 digs per set and has had 21 aces, which is tied for second-most on the team.

As a team, Parkside is hitting .182, while their opponents are hitting .181. On the season, Parkside has recorded 765 kills, 953 digs, 692 assists, 130 aces and 164 blocks and is averaging 2.34 blocks per set.  

Friday's match will be the second meeting this season and 12th all-time between the two teams that were once rivals in the GLVC. The Bearcats lead the series, 7-4, but Parkside won the earlier meeting this season and that win snapped a two-match win streak in the series for McKendree.

ABOUT TIFFIN (9-12, 4-7 G-MAC)
The Dragons come into play this weekend with a 9-12 overall record and a 4-7 mark in the G-MAC and have lost two straight matches, including falling in its most recent match, 3-1, to Hillsdale (Mich.) last Friday. Tiffin opens the crossover against Maryville, before facing the Bearcats.

Leading the way offensively for Tiffin is sophomore outside hitter Wakaya Wilson, who is averaging 2.70 kills per set, is hitting .159, and has had 123 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Peterson is averaging 2.67 kills and is hitting .243 and sophomore outside hitter Kenedi Goon is averaging 2.37 kills per set and is second blocks as she averages 0.75 per set.

Defensively, sophomore libero Diana Heitkamp averages 4.19 digs per set and leads the team with 29 aces, while senior outside hitter Amari Torain is averaging 2.25 digs per set and junior middle hitter Alivia Rew is averaging 0.89 blocks per set.

Sophomore setter Clare Kwiatkowski leads the Dragons in assists and assists per set on the year as she has recorded 516 assists and is averaging 7.07 per set and has added 12 aces.

As a team, Tiffin is hitting .166 as a team and their foes are hitting .187. The Dragons have recorded 901 kills, 1,188 digs, 824 assists, 113 aces and 138 blocks.

Saturday's match will be just the third ever meeting between the two schools with all three happening since the beginning of the 2021 season, The series is tied at 1-1 as McKendree won the first meeting last season, 3-1, in Big Rapids, Mich., before falling in four sets at last year's Midwest Region Crossover.

ABOUT WALSH (8-8, 5-7 G-MAC)
Walsh comes into the weekend sporting an 8-8 overall record and a 5-7 mark in the G-MAC. The Cavaliers, though, have won two of its three matches overall with the lone loss being a 3-1 setback at home this past Saturday against Trevecca Nazarene.

Graduate student Olivia Maczuzak, who is averaging 2.81 kills, 2.31 digs and 0.41 blocks per set and is hitting .224, paces the Cavaliers offensively. In addition to Maczuzak, junior outside hitter Sydney Dixon is averaging 2.14 kills and 2.46 digs per set and is hitting .230, senior middle blocker Grace Lindquist is averaging 2.05 kills, and 0.57 blocks per set and is hitting .310.

Defensively, senior libero Natalie Brutscher is averaging 3.61 digs per set and has had 12 aces, while freshman middle hitter Ravin Morgan is averaging 0.75 blocks per set and leads the team with 39 blocks and second in kills with 124 and is hitting a team-best .389.

Redshirt sophomore Olivia Kearns is Walsh's primary setter as she is averaging 8.42 assists and 2.34 digs per set and has had 16 aces, 30 kills and 12 blocks.

As a team, Walsh is hitting .227 and their opponents are hitting .178. On the season, Walsh has recorded 781 kills, 941 digs, 689 assists, 92 aces and 107 blocks.

Saturday's match-up will mark the fourth all-time in the series against Walsh as McKendree as won all three previous meetings in the series. The most recent meeting came in Springfield, Ill., on Aug. 25, 2018 as the Bearcats won that match, 3-0.

UP NEXT
Following this weekend's Midwest Region Crossover, the Bearcats return to GLVC play with back-to-back road matches next weekend (Oct. 21-22) against Drury and Missouri S&T.