LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree's men's volleyball team is ready for a ranked weekend of competition in Purdue Fort Wayne and Ball State. The Bearcats fell short in their first meeting with both teams earlier in the season, falling 2-3 at Purdue Fort Wayne and 1-3 at Ball State.
McKendree is entering the weekend after completing the mid-week series sweep over Harvard, not dropping a set across the two matches. These wins stretched the Bearcats to an eight-game win streak. McKendree is looking to protect their home court and even the score in this weekend's matchups. Leading the Bearcats' offense to an average hitting percentage of .287 on the season is junior setter
Nate Flayter. Flayter has tallied 785 assists and is fresh off surpassing 2,000 career assists in McKendree's first match against Harvard last week. The hot hand belongs to senior opposite
Bryce Wetjen, notching 248 kills. Wetjen is followed by redshirt senior
Sam Hoskin with 138 kills. Defensively, Flayter leads the back court with 173 digs. At the net, senior
Rolen Lively has recorded 75 total blocks (8 BS, 67 BA).
Purdue Fort Wayne is coming off two losses against Ohio State (0-3) and Ball State(0-3). Sophomore setter Hunter Hopkins is leading the Mastodons' offense to a .278 average hitting efficiency, with 627 assists on the season. Junior opposite Logan Muir is the kills leader for Purdue Fort Wayne, sitting at 190. Muir is followed by sophomore outside hitter/opposite Owen Banner with 159 kills. Defensively, junior libero Andrew Mayer leads the back court with 110 digs. At the net, junior opposite Kaden Fosdick has collected 48 total blocks (4 BS, 44 BA). Fosdick is followed by junior middle blocker Casey Lyons with 39 total blocks (3 BS, 36 BA).
Ball State is riding a three-game win streak after taking down Ohio State (3-1) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-0) last weekend. Junior setter Lucas Machado has racked up 669 assists, leading the Cardinals' offense to a season average hitting percentage of .376. Ball State's go-to offensive player is senior outside hitter Patrick Rogers. Rogers has 259 kills on the season, followed by sophomore opposite Ryan Louis with 234 kills. Defensively, the Cardinals' back court is led by senior libero Victor Scherer with 102 digs, followed by Rogers with 98 digs. Machado and sophomore outside hitter Wil Basilio each add 93 digs to Ball State's defensive efforts. At the net, Louis leads with 64 total blocks (7 BS, 57 BA). Junior middle blocker/opposite Brayson Savitski-Lynde follows with 60 total blocks (4 BS, 56 BA).
McKendree will face the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, Mar. 26, at 7:00 PM, followed by the Cardinals of Ball State on Saturday, Mar. 28, at 4:00 PM. Thursday's match is Pride Night, and Saturday's match is a Black Out.
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