LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University men's volleyball picked up a four-set win at the Melvin Price Convocation Center on Saturday night against Purdue Fort Wayne.
The Bearcats won 26-24 in the first set, fell 25-23 in the second, won 25-21 in the third and 25-16 in the fourth. With the win the Bearcats improved to 12-8 and 7-3 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association play while Purdue Fort Wayne fell to 13-10 and 4-6 in MIVA play.
During the match, the Bearcats held the Mastodons to a .170 hitting percentage whereas McKendree hit .267 in the match. McKendree also held an 8-4 advantage in serve aces.
Offensively, the Bearcats had three players record double-digit kills as graduate student opposite Ethan Carroll (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) recorded 15 kills in the match. Graduate student outside hitter Patrick Ross (Anthem, Ariz./Boulder Creek) and freshman outside hitter Kevin Schuele (Aurora, Ill./Saint Francis) recorded 13 kills each. Redshirt senior setter Ryan Serrano (Phoenix, Ariz./Boulder Creek) recorded 44 assists in the match. Carroll recorded three of the eight serve aces while Schuele added two serve aces.
Defensively, the Bearcats had four players record five or more digs in the match. Schuele led the way with eight digs, while Ross and Serrano added six each and Carroll recorded five digs. Redshirt junior middle blocker Daniel Duggan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) recorded a career-high five block assists in the match.
Purdue Fort Wayne was led by Jon Diedrich as he recorded 13 kills while Rico Wardlow added 11 kills in the match. Diedrich also added a game-high 12 digs for the Mastodons.
Notes:
With his 13 kills, Ross is now at 908 career kills and needs 25 to tie Nolan Reuter's 933 career kills for the program record. With his 15 kills, Carroll tied Reuter for third most kills in a season at 270 and is 22 behind Maalik Walker's 292 kills in 2017.
Up Next:
The Bearcats return to action on Thursday, March 31 as they travel to Muncie, Ind. as the Bearcats matchup against Ball State University at 7 p.m. eastern time.