LEBANON, Ill. -- The McKendree women's volleyball team took a three-set loss to Southwest Baptist University (SBU) on Saturday, Sept. 19, leaving the team 0-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play.
SET ONE:
McKendree started strong going on a 3-0 serving run with earned kills from right side Madelyn Clarke. Many of the early points of set one was aggressive, offensive plays from McKendree's front row, fighting point for point until the middle of the set. With the momentum in McKendree's favor, they climbed to a 14-8 scoring position. SBU crept back into the fight between the Bearcats with a three-point serving run after a serving error, eventually tying the game to 15 a piece. With each team earning points offensively and aggressively from the service line, the first set became a tight match with a 24-24 score. The last two points that put SBU over the point cap were back-to-back, ending the first set 26-24.
SET TWO:
The first points McKendree earned of set two were two seperate kills by middle blocker Illana Reeder, breaking up a two, and a four-point scoring run, stopping SBU's race to be the first team to earn ten. After four back-to-back kills from SBU, McKendree responded with the same offensive pattern after outside Reece Distler stopped the run, giving McKendree an opportunity to earn two more points and shift the score to 12-6. With the early lead that SBU had taken from the home team, the dynamic of the rest of the match was a volley of points, with multiple kills from right side Sara Niemburg. McKendree fought the last few points, but ended the second set in a point deficit, 25-18.
SET THREE:
The start to set three left both of the teams within one or two points of each other, with the McKendree pin hitters earning kills in first ball side out opportunities. With some offensive courage from outside hitters Distler and Brooke Heimburger, as well as right side Mackenzie Yoakum, McKendree won the race to the first 15 points, with SBU trailing one behind them. SBU separated, earning the lead with heavy service pressure. With two errors from McKendree, the shift of energy went to SBU's favor, leaving McKendree to trail with two points at 20-18. A kill each from Heimburger and Distler and a thrilling stuff block from Neimburg allowed McKendree to stay in the fight, until SBU went on a four-point run to end the set and close the game 25-22.
Key Plays of the Match:
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