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Time to make room in the rafters at Melvin Price Convocation Center for a men’s volleyball championship banner.
No. 12/10 McKendree for the first time in program history earned a share of the MIVA regular season title as it swept Purdue Fort Wayne 25-17, 25-23, 33-31 on Saturday in Lebanon, Illinois.
The Bearcats fought off four game-points in the third-game overtime to complete the regular season finale sweep. In addition, Rolen Lively and Kevin Schuele teamed up to deliver back-to-back match-ending blocks to cap off the overtime comeback.
Setter Nate Flayter guided the offense to out-hit Purdue Fort Wayne .352 to .234, including McKendree hitting more than .450 in each of the first two games.
The Bearcats had three players hit .500 en route to their fourth consecutive win.
Outside attacker Sam Hoskin finished with a team-high 12 kills on .500 attack percentage. Hoskin also had a kill on a Purdue Fort Wayne game-point opportunity in the third-game overtime.
Opposite Nikos Xydakis contributed 11 kills on a .500 attack percentage, while middle attacker D’Aaron McCarney had seven kills and hit .500.
Along with the offensive performance, McCarney led all players with four blocks.
Purdue Fort Wayne pin-hitter Logan Muir in the loss had a match-high 23 kills on a .459 attack percentage. Muir, though, was the only Mastodon with double-digit kills.
McKendree with this victory finished the regular season tied with No. 6/6 Loyola for first place. McKendree will be the No. 2 seed for the MIVA Tournament because Loyola holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Bearcats will have a rematch against the Mastodons in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. Purdue Fort Wayne clinched the No. 7 seed and will attempt to become the first No. 7 seed to win a MIVA Tournament match since McKendree pulled off the feat in 2023.