ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The women's water polo team is heading down to the Augustana Mini Tournament this weekend, which will be hosted by in-state Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.
The pair of matches will take place on Saturday, February 8th, and will be against DIII No.6 Augustana at 12:00 PM CT, followed by a game with Carthage College at 3:00 PM CT. The tournament will take place inside the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium
All contests will be streamed live for free on the Viking Sports Network at youtube.com/@augieathletics/streams. Live stats for the matches will be on https://www.thefosh.net/; see below for specific destinations.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree is coming off their best start to the season since 2022, as they sit at 5-3 overall after going 3-1 at the annual VMI Invite last weekend. They won the first three matches against the University of Toronto, Virginia Military Institute, and DIII No.7 Austin College while faltering to Bucknell University in the last game of the tournament.
Against Toronto, the two teams would take turns making runs at each other including McKendree going on a 4-0 spurt to put them up by six. Yet, the Bearcats would hold on to win 14-9 with sophomore utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) tying a career-high five goals as sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) dropped in a hat-trick of three.
In the win against VMI, the Bearcats would start up 4-1, but would encounter again opposing runs to make it a tight contest. With McKendree up by seven in the fourth quarter, the Keydets tacked on four straight goals to cut their deficit to three, but junior attacker Jazmine Sandoval put the nail in the coffin for any comeback hopes for VMI as the Bearcats would win 15-12. Morquecho tabbed a career-high six goals with the same amount for drawn exclusions.
The next day against DIII No.7 Austin, McKendree would be knotted up at two a-piece in the early goings. Then, the Bearcats ignited a scorching 8-0 run with junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Québec, Canada) contributed in the first four of such. The 'Roos tried to claw right back into the game in the final moments of play, but McKendree was too much to handle as they would win 15-7. Rebelo went a perfect 8-8 shooting, making it a career-high for the junior, as Munoz also went perfect on 4-4 shooting.
In the loss to Bucknell, the Bison began with a 6-0 start, leading into the second quarter of action. The Bearcats responded with a little 2-1 run from Munoz and Morquecho in which Bucknell responded with a 3-1 run of their own. Two goals in the final period of regulation by Morquecho was not enough as the Bison would win 10-5.
Rebelo was an offensive force for McKendree, as she was third in the tournament in total goals (12), second in total assists (7), first in points (19), third in field blocks (1), first in steals (3), second in assists per game (1.8), first in points per game (4.8), and second in steals per game (1.0). She also totaled four drawn exclusions in the invite. The junior now has 16 goals, 13 assists, 10 drawn exclusions, eight steals, and three field blocks as the assists, steals, and field blocks lead the team. The Québec, Montreal native ranks in the top of the WWPA in total goals (3rd – 16), total assists (1st – 13), points (1st – 29), field blocks (3rd – 3), total steals (4th – 8), goals per game (7th – 2.0), assists per game (1st – 1.6), and points per game (1st – 3.6). Rebelo is top nationally in total assists (8th – 13) and
With her performance during the weekend, the WWPA honored Rebelo with this week's WWPA Player of the Week awards, earning offensive.
Senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) held down the fort on her end of the waters in a 3-1 weekend at the annual VMI Invite. Kane totaled 52 saves (13.0 per game) on 38 goals allowed while obtaining a 57.8% save percentage plus one steal and one assist while playing in all 128 minutes of action in the tournament. Within the invite, she was placed at the top in total saves (1st – 52), save percentage (2nd – 57.8%), goals against average (2nd – 9.50), and saves per game (1st – 13.0). The senior is top in the WWPA in total steals (4th – 8), total saves (1st – 86), save percentage (1st – 54.8%), goals-against average (1st – 9.46), saves per game (1st – 10.8) and steals per game (8th – 1.0). The Kankakee, Illinois native is top nationally in total saves (1st – 86), save percentage (2nd – 54.8%), goals-against average (5th– 9.46), and saves per game (1st – 10.8).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
DIII No.6 Augustana College | Saturday, February 8th, 12:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 7-8 on 3/9/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
This will be the seventh-ever meeting between the two programs. Augustana beat McKendree 8-7 last season after the Bearcats were victorious in all five prior matchups. The series favors McKendree 5-1 with an average margin of victory of 7.2.
This weekend will be the first time the Vikings have taken the waters in competition this season. They went 20-4 overall and 8-0 in the CWPA last season and have received the number six spot in the latest Women's Varsity Division III Top 10.
Carthage College | Saturday, February 8th, 3:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 15-7 on 1/26/2025 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
This will be the ninth-ever meeting between the two programs, as McKendree won all eight previous matchups in the series, leading to their 8-1 all-time record against Carthage. The Bearcats have won by 7+ in all their wins (12.0-point average margin) and the only loss came in the Hoosier Classic in 2017 when they lost 7-8.
The Firebirds compile a 1-6 record so far into the season as they have yet to compete in CWPA play. They went 0-4 in the Hoosier Classic and followed with a 1-2 outing in California with a win against Caltech and a pair of losses to Occidental College and Chapman University.
TUNE IN-FO
at DIII No.6 Augustana College
WATCH: Click HERE (FREE – YouTube)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
vs Carthage College
WATCH: Click HERE (FREE – YouTube)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM GUIDES
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Augustana] [Carthage]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Augustana] [Carthage]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Augustana] [Carthage]
PARTICIPANTS
McKendree University
Augustana College (Ill.)
Carthage College
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