Lebanon, Ill. - The Maryville men's volleyball team made the trek over to McKendree but could not slow down the Bearcats who posted a 25-14, 25-9, 25-20 Friday night. Luke Van Handel led the Saints with seven kills, while Avery Pohlman had a match-high seven digs.
 
McKendree Recap
The Bearcats scored the first four points of the match until Van Handel put down a kill for Maryville. Mason Mortimer put down a kill as the Saints got to within two but McKendree went on a 4-0 run. The Saints closed to 20-11 on a Van Handel kill and forced two straight Bearcat errors but McKendree closed out the opening set.
 
The Saints fell behind 5-0 in the second before a Bearcat service error and a block by Tate Sandvig and Jacob Fischer got Maryville on the board. Cameron Chambers tipped in a ball and the Bearcats had a hitting error as the Saints scored back-to-back points. Mortimer had a kill to cut McKendree's lead to 17-8 but the Bearcats used an 8-1 run to end the set.
 
The Saints took a narrow lead to open the third set and were still leading 8-7 after a solo block by Van Handel. McKendree roared back and jumped back in front 12-9. Maryville used a 3-0 run to get back to a 12-12 tie. Victor Ganev had a kill, and after a McKendree error, Ganev and Fischer teamed up on a block. The match was still deadlocked at 13-13 but the Bearcats scored four straight points. Van Handel had a kill to bring the Saints to within four but Maryville was unable to trim the gap any further.
 
Statistical Leaders:
Kills: Luke Van Handel - 7
Hitting Percentage: Luke Van Handel - .333
Assists: Cameron Chambers - 13
Digs: Avery Pohlman - 7
Blocks: Jacob Fischer - 2
 
Records
Maryville: 3-5
McKendree: 3-3
 
What's Next?
The Saints are right back in action as they make an even shorter road trip to St. Charles, Mo., to face Lindenwood. The match will start in Hyland Arena at 7 p.m.s