LEBANON, Ill. - The Quincy University men's volleyball team traveled south to Lebanon, Illinois on Saturday (Feb. 22) to take on McKendree University. Omari Wheeler totaled 25 kills on the night for the Hawks, but the Bearcats took the match 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 21-25).

How It Happened
1st Set
The Hawks and Bearcats traded points early on as the score sat tied at 5-5.
 
Omari Wheeler proceeded to hammer down back-to-back kills to put Quincy ahead by two.
 
Redshirt junior Adam Meyer later notched a kill of his own to extend the Hawks lead to three at 13-10, forcing a Bearcat timeout.
 
Quincy took advantage of the break, scoring the first two points after play resumed. A McKendree attack error and a perfectly placed serve from Meyer put the Hawks up 15-10.
 
The home team did not go down easy, however, as they went on a 3-0 run to cut the QU lead down to two, 19-17.
 
McKendree chipped it to one at 20-19, but Quincy was able to use three Bearcat attack errors to build a cushion.
 
The Hawks used that momentum to close out the set. Wheeler notched his seventh kill down the stretch to seal the 25-21 set one victory.
 
2nd Set
McKendree looked to even the score in the second set as they jumped out to a 12-4 lead.
 
The Bearcats led by as many as eleven, but the Hawks made a late run.
 
Two kills from Omari Wheeler and one from Michael Ladner fueled an 8-2 run by QU.
Wheeler then served up an ace to cut the lead to 20-15, forcing McKendree to take a timeout.
 
Quincy inched closer after the timeout when back-to-back kills from Ladner and Yoran Raymaekers made the score 21-17.
 
Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Bearcat lead was too much to overcome.
 
McKendree took the second set 25-21.
 
3rd Set
The third set was a back-and-forth affair from beginning to end.
 
Quincy jumped ahead 7-4 after two McKendree attack errors and an Omari Wheeler kill, but the Bearcats fought back and tied the score 12-12.
 
The two teams traded the next twelve points before the Hawks put together another 3-0 run. Blake Sprecher and Wheeler each recorded a kill during that stretch to put QU up 21-18 and force the home team to take a timeout.
 
The short gap in play went in favor of the Bearcats, as they tallied two kills and a service ace to tie the score once again at 21-21.
 
Two QU timeouts down the stretch could not halt McKendree's momentum. The Bearcats took four of the last six points to win the set 25-23.
 
4th Set
The Bearcats put down six kills early on in the fourth set to go up 14-8.
 
Two McKendree errors and an Omari Wheeler kill helped Quincy cut the lead in half.
 
The Bearcats answered with a 4-0 run to take an 18-11 lead, forcing QU head coach Gavin Mueller to take his final timeout.
 
The Hawks put together a four-point run of their own down the stretch, cutting the lead to 22-19. Matt Friddle recorded a service ace and Wheeler notched his 25^th kill of the match during the run.
 
QU was unable to pull any closer, as McKendree won the fourth set 25-21 to take the 3-1 victory.

Stat Leaders
Omari Wheeler - 25 kills, 8 digs
Yoran Raymaekers - 45 assists
Noam Hannoun - 15 digs

Up Next
Quincy will look to bounce back on Friday (Feb. 28) when they host Ohio State in Pepsi Arena at 7 p.m.