LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree's men's volleyball team is on the road this weekend, as the Bearcats will take a trip to the windy city to face Loyola Chicago on Thursday, Apr. 2, at 7:00 PM, followed by a match against Lewis on Saturday, Apr. 4, at 5:00 PM.
McKendree is entering the weekend coming off a split weekend prior, where the Bearcats swept Purdue Fort Wayne and fell to Ball State in three sets. In McKendree's last outings, senior opposite
Bryce Wetjen had the hot hand for the Bearcats' offense, tallying 27 kills on the weekend. Wetjen grabbed the match-high for digs against Purdue Fort Wayne with 10 digs, and redshirt sophomore
Boone Felts had McKendree's match-high against Ball State with 10 digs. Overall, Wetjen ranks as the offensive leader for the Bearcats, currently with 275 kills on the season. Junior setter
Nate Flayter orchestrates the offense, sitting at 848 assists, leading McKendree to a season average .285 hitting percentage. On the defensive end, Flayter is the anchor in the back court, picking up 180 digs. At the net, senior middle blocker
Rolen Lively has the dominating presence, notching 79 total blocks (8 BS, 71 BA).
Loyola Chicago is coming into the weekend riding the high of taking down Lewis 3-1 last week. In that match, junior outside hitter Daniel Fabikovic nabbed the match-high for Loyola in kills with 11, and senior libero JJ Sowa led the back court with Loyola's match-high of six digs. On the season, Fabikovic leads the offense for Loyola with 205 kills. Redshirt sophomore setter/opposite Alex Smits Van Oyen and senior setter Ryan McElligott set the offense up for success with 391 and 373 assists, respectively. Smits Van Oyen and McElligott team up to lead the Loyola offense to an average .320 hitting percentage. Defensively, Sowa leads with 153 digs. At the net, Fabikovic has the leading defensive presence with 47 total blocks (3 BS, 44 BA), followed by freshman middle blocker Oskar Berg Mikkelsen with 40 total blocks (3 BS, 37 BA).
Lewis is entering the weekend nursing a 3-1 loss to Loyola Chicago. In that match, senior outside hitter Daniel Haber grabbed the overall match high of 13 kills, and senior libero Nico Paula grabbed the overall match high for digs with 10. Haber is leading Lewis' offense with 254 kills on the season. Junior setter Diego Estrada sets up the offensive success with 779 assists, leading Lewis to an average .273 hitting percentage on the season. Defensively, Nico is the anchor for the back court with 210 digs. At the net, redshirt junior middle blocker locks it down, sitting at 83 total blocks (5 BS, 78 BA).
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