Metro East Sun

Men’s Volleyball Closes Out Opening Weekend with Three-Set Defeat to No. 8 UC-Irvine

McKendree University men's volleyball fell in three sets to No. 8-ranked University of California-Irvine on Saturday evening to drop to 0-2 on the season. The Bearcats will host New Jersey Institute of Technology at Melvin Price Convocation Center on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
 
In the first set, McKendree and UC-Irvine battled neck-and-neck as UC-Irvine only held as much as a three-point advantage twice at 10-7 and 16-13 during the set. The set saw 23 tied scores and nine lead changes as the teams worked well into the 30's, eventually decided with a 36-34 score in favor of the Anteaters.
 
Through the first set, the Bearcats tallied 24 kills to the Anteaters' 21 and held the advantage in blocking 7-4. McKendree also posted a season-high .373 hitting percentage, earning 24 kills on 51 attempts.
 
UC-Irvine took the second set with a 25-15 victory as the Bearcats struggled to gain momentum with seven attacking errors in the set. An early five-point run and a late four-point run for the Anteaters put the set out of reach for the Bearcats.
 
For the third set, McKendree held an early 7-3 lead with three kills from senior outside hitter Kyle Wilson and two kills from freshman opposite hitter Bryce Wetjen. However, the Anteaters would climb back to an 18-12 lead over the Bearcats and use the momentum to propel them to a 25-19 score to seal the victory.
 
The Bearcats were led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Kevin Schuele who tallied his second double-digit kill performance of the season with 12 while Wilson added 11 in the three sets. Wetjen recorded nine kills in his second collegiate appearance for McKendree. Junior middle blocker Jacob Gall completed six kills on 10 attempts to lead the team with a .600 hitting percentage.
 
Defensively, redshirt senior middle blocker Daniel Duggan posted four of the team's nine blocks while Schuele and junior setter Tyler Poulsen each tallied two blocks. Wetjen led the way in digs with eight in addition to six each from Schuele and graduate student libero Francisco Comas.
 
The Anteaters were led offensively by three players in double figures as sophomore outside hitter Hilir Henno had 13 kills, redshirt junior outside hitter Cole Gillis had 11 kills, and junior outside hitter Francesco Sani had 10 kills. UC-Irvine posted hitting percentages of .415, .444, and .318 respectively in the three sets.
 
The Bearcats return to their home court host New Jersey Institute of Technology at the Melvin Price Convocation Center in a 7 p.m. match on Tuesday, Jan. 10. 

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