BOLIVAR, Mo – Women's Volleyball secured the conference opener road win against Southwest Baptist University in a 3-0 sweep with the scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-23.

McKendree started conference play with a thrilling and competitive game against Southwest Baptist. The Bearcats finished the match with 40 kills compared to Southwest Baptist 38. McKendree was led by freshman opposite Avery Wuebbels who ended with 10 kills, followed by outside hitter duo senior Destiny Gray and graduate student Emily-Kate Lonergan with 7 and 6 kills respectively. The Bearcats recorded a team hitting efficiency of .187 percent. Freshman setter Peyton Uptgraft orchestrated McKendree's offense noting 25 assists and adding in 6 kills in the Bearcats victory.

Defensively, McKendree tallied 62 digs while Southwest Baptist recorded 57. Senior libero Ashlyn Berczynski picked up an impressive 23 digs in the Bearcats 3 set win, leading the back court. Uptgraft followed suit, recording 13 digs while sophomore outside hitter Paige Parant added 9 digs to give the Bearcats a defensive edge over Southwest Baptist. McKendree also had 4 blocks on the match, magnifying their defensive efforts. Gray noted 2 blocks while middle blockers Avery Guisinger (sophomore) and Megan Bishton (freshman) added 2 blocks each.

The Bearcats dominated at the service line, collecting 5 aces on the match. Berczynski severed up 2 aces, while Parant, Uptgraft and junior defensive specialist Brielle Crose each added in 1.

McKendree will be back in action tomorrow, Sept. 27th. The Bearcats head to Springfield, Mo. to take on Drury University at 3:00 PM for another conference show down.
 

Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Women's Volleyball on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. #GLVCwvb | #D2volleyball

For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
#BearcatsUnleashed