LONG BEACH, Cali. – McKendree men's volleyball fell short in three straight sets to Long Beach State on Saturday evening. The set scores were 22-25, 33-35, 16-25.
The Bearcats found themselves down five points early in the first set after Long Beach State went on a 6-0 run, ended by a kill from senior opposite Bryce Wetjen, leaving the score at 3-7. McKendree slowly clawed their way back into the set by earning a few back-to-back points. Ultimately, the deficit was too much for the Bearcats to overcome.
Set two was a display of McKendree's gritty team efforts. The Bearcats and Long Beach State traded points back and forth for the beginning of the second set. McKendree was up 12-10 before Long Beach State went on a 3-0 run. The Bearcats immediately regained the lead by going on a 3-0 run of their own. At 19-16, Long Beach went on another 3-0 run to tie the score late in set two. Points were traded back and forth well past the 25-point mark, with Long Beach State going on another 3-0 run to end the set and go up 0-2 over the Bearcats.
In the third set, Long Beach State went on a 5-0 run pulling ahead of McKendree after trading points back and forth to start the set. A service error by Long Beach State ended this run, leaving the score at 9-14. The Bearcats could not seem to take the momentum away from the home team, resulting in Long Beach State winning the set and match.
McKendree found themselves relying on graduate outside hitter Tyler Tripp's offensive to give them life. Tripp notched 14 kills on 36 attempts only recording two errors. Redshirt senior outside hitter Sam Hoskin and Wetjen followed suit with 12 and 8 kills, respectively. Junior setter Nate Flayter tallied 33 assists with four kills of his own.
Tripp played both sides of the ball at a high level, picking up 11 digs. Flayter and Hoskin were right behind with 10 digs each. At the net, redshirt sophomore middle blocker Will Klimek tallied 3 blocks (1 BS, 2 BA). Senior middle blocker Rolen Lively, Wetjen, and Tripp each added in 2 block assists.
Up Next: The Bearcats will be back in action at the UC Invitational next weekend, 1/16-17. McKendree will face the University of Charleston on 1/16 at 6 PM CT followed by the University of Mount Olive on 1/17 at 1 PM CT.
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