LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree's men's volleyball team, seeded No. 4, is headed to Muncie, Ind. on Wednesday, Arp. 22, to face No. 1-seeded Ball State in the semifinal round of the MIVA tournament at 6:00 PM CT.
In the quarterfinals, the Bearcats faced No. 5-seeded Ohio State. McKendree quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the match, taking the first two sets 25-18, but the Buckeyes refused to go quietly. Ohio State took the third set 25-21, and the fourth set 25-22 to even the match score at two sets apiece and force a deciding fifth set. In a thrilling fifth-set battle, the Bearcats came out on top 15-12. Redshirt senior outside hitter
Sam Hoskin led McKendree's offense with 13 kills, followed by graduate outside hitter
Tyler Tripp and senior opposite
Bryce Wetjen, both with 12 kills. Graduate libero
Yadiel Diaz picked up 11 digs, leading the back court, followed by Tripp with nine digs. Senior middle blocker
Rolen Lively was a force at the net, tallying five blocks, followed by Tripp and Wetjen with four blocks each. Junior setter
Nate Flayter notched 37 assists, adding three kills and five digs.
On the season, the Bearcats are led offensively by Wetjen with 365 kills, and Flayter tallies 1052 assists. Wetjen also leads in service aces with 36, followed by Flayter with 35. Defensively, Flayer leads the back court, picking up 220 digs, followed by Diaz with 194 digs. Lively dominates at the net with 93 blocks.
Ball State handled business in their quarterfinal round match, sweeping No. 8-seeded Northern Kentucky with the final set scores of 25-18, 26-24, 25-15. Rogers led the Cardinals' offense with 12 kills, followed by Basilio and Louis each with six kills. Scherer led the back court, picking up six digs, followed by Basilio with five digs. At the net, Machado was a force, recording four blocks, followed by Basilio and Surette with three blocks each. Machado tallied 23 assists, adding two kills.
On the season, Ball State is led offensively by Rogers with 347 kills, and Machado notches 866 assists. Rogers leads behind the service line with 35 aces, followed by Louis with 31 aces. Defensively, the Cardinals' back court is led by Scherer with 145 digs, followed by Rogers with 142 digs. Louis is a force at the net, tallying 74 blocks, followed by Savitski-Lynde with 67 blocks.
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