LEXINGTON, Va. - The women's water polo team grabbed three wins against the University of Toronto, Virginia Military Institute, and DIII No.7 Austin College before losing to Bucknell University at the VMI Invite in Lexington, Virginia. 

MATCH ONE vs. Toronto

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 14, University of Toronto 9 

Record: Bearcats 3-2, 0-0 WWPA | Varsity Blues 13-1 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Toronto jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the early goings of the first match of the VMI Invite with attacker Hannah Levin getting both goals. McKendree responded by scoring five straight times to round out the first quarter and into the second period as sophomore utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) and sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) each contributed on two of them. 

The Varsity Blues answered with a small 3-1 run in the midst of the second quarter where center forward Georgia Springate put in two of them. Towards the end of the first have and beginning of the second, Munoz and Morquecho each earned themselves a hat-trick with each sneaking in a goal in a 4-0 team burst to put them up 11-5. 

Still down by a few, Toronto would go on another 3-1 run in hopes of catching up to the Bearcats. However, McKendree with Munoz and junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Québec, Montreal) would put the game away with each firing in a goal in the final minutes to win the opening match, 14-9. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Munoz finished with a season-high and tied a career-high of five goals on eight shot attempts along with an assist. 

• Morquecho was not too far behind with three goals on four attempts while drawing six exclusions and getting a steal. 

• Rebelo and junior attacker Dylan Murphy (Carlsbad, Calif.) each notched in a pair of goals while the former had three assists, two steals, and a drawn exclusion while the latter had four assists and two steals. 

• Senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) played in all 32 minutes and saved the ball 14 times plus a steal. 

• The series is now tied at 1-1 between the two programs. 

MATCH TWO vs. VMI

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 15, Virginia Military Institute 12 

Record: Bearcats 4-2, 0-0 WWPA | Keydets 2-1, 0-0 MAAC 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

VMI would draw first blood with junior attacker Sydney Smith in on the shot. Shortly afterwards, McKendree would ignite a 4-0 spurt, with the scoring coming from four different players in a balanced effort. 

With the Bearcats holding an early 4-1 lead, the two sides would take turns getting it into the net with the Keydets going on a 4-2 run that lasted midway through the second period of play. Morquecho and McKendree responded a 5-2 run in where Morquecho tabbed in three more goals to bring it to her fourth in the game thus far with Rebelo getting her second and Munoz snagging her first. 

With McKendree up 11-7 with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter, VMI's sophomore attacker Meagan Riding stopped the bleeding for her team and got them back on the board. Yet, the Bearcats would tack on three more goals with two more from Morquecho and one more from Munoz to up their lead to seven. 

The Keydets would give one more push in the final quarter of regulation by scoring four straight goals with three coming from sophomore center defender Sarah Fitzsimmons to bring them within three. Bearcat junior attacker Jazmine Sandoval (Westminster, Calif.) gave her squad one more goal with 10 seconds remaining to get the 15-12 win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Morquecho finished with a career-high six goals on nine attempts along with her second straight game of six drawn exclusions. 

• Rebelo, Munoz, and sophomore attacker Shanelle Márquez (Madrid, Spain) each had a pair of goals and a pair of drawn exclusions in the win as Rebelo had two assists and two steals and Márquez had one steal. 

• Kane was in the cage for all 32 minutes of action and tallied 10 saves. 

• VMI's Fitzsimmons led her team with four goals on five attempts. 

• Keydet sophomore goalkeeper Maddie Day had just four saves in all 32 minutes of play. 

• Both teams shot the ball 29 times. 

• The Bearcats were +7 in drawn exclusions 

• McKendree had the 6-0 edge in steals. 

• The series is now tied at 3-3 between the two programs. 

MATCH THREE vs. Austin

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 15, Austin College 7 

Record: Bearcats 2-2, 0-0 WWPA | 'Roos 0-3, 0-0 CWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

The two sides would begin day two of the VMI Invite by trading scoring possessions to open up the game as Rebelo and Morquecho would continue their hot streak for the weekend in obtaining the two goals for McKendree as the match would be tied at two a-piece. Munoz and Rebelo would each get one to go in as Austin would get their third goal of the game with 5:56 remaining in the second period of play. 

Shortly after, the Bearcats would go on a scorching 7-0 run with Rebelo contributing on the first four of such to put her team ahead 11-3 in the midst of the third quarter. The 'Roos connected on the next for goals in the game, each from different players to cut their deficit down to four with 5:38 to go in regulation. 

McKendree would fend off Austin in the final moments of the match, with Munoz firing in three straight goals plus Rebelo capping it off to win the game handily, 15-7. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Rebelo went a perfect 8-8 on her shot attempts, while getting an assist and a drawn exclusion. Her eight goals are a career-high. 

• Munoz had four goals on a perfect four attempts as well, along with a pair of steals and a drawn exclusion. 

• Kane was in the full 32 minutes as she racked up 12 saves and an assist. 

• The 'Roos were led by senior center defender Ashley Chand and sophomore utility Mikhaela Torres, who each had two goals. 

• Austin freshman goalkeeper Taylor Luckritz had five saves in their loss. 

• McKendree outshot the 'Roos 24-21. 

• Austin was +2 in drawn exclusions. 

• The Bearcat win makes McKendree 1-0 all-time in the series. 

• The McKendree four-game win streak matches their streak from March 23rd to March 30th of last season. 

MATCH FOUR vs. Bucknell

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 5, Bucknell University 10 

Record: Bearcats 5-3, 0-0 WWPA | Bison 5-1, 0-0 CWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Bucknell took control all through the first quarter of action and also the first few minutes of the second period as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead. 

Munoz and Morquecho gave McKendree a small 2-1 run with a couple of goals soon after to close out the first half down by a 7-2 margin. 

The Bison opened up the third quarter with two more goals from multiple players as Márquez put the Bearcats back on the board with a goal off an exclusion. 

With Bucknell striking first again in the final period of play, McKendree and Morquecho tacked on two more scoring possessions in the final three and a half minutes, but would ultimately fall to the Bison, 5-10. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Morquecho led with another hat-trick of three goals plus a trio of drawn exclusions. 

• Munoz and Márquez had the other two goals for the Bearcats as Rebelo also had an assist and a drawn exclusion. 

• Kane ha a season-high 16 saves in 32 minutes of play  

• Freshman attacker Ashley Hopper led the Bison with three goals. 

• Bucknell sophomore goalkeeper Tamara Torkos finished with 15 saves. 

• The Bison outshot McKendree 33-28. 

• Bucknell was +5 in drawn exclusions. 

• The Bearcats now fall to 0-5 in the series. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action next weekend when they play in the Augustana Mini Tournament (hosted by Augustana College (Ill.)). They will play Augustana at 12:00 PM CT, followed by Carthage College at 3:00 PM CT later that day. Both games will be on Saturday, February 8th and will be played at the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium in Rock Island, Illinois.

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