Kansas City, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University (SBU) men's volleyball team defeated Avila University for the third time this season and second time this weekend on Saturday after four sets of play. The win extends the Bearcats' winning streak to seven and moves their overall record to 8-1.
 
The first two sets of the game were closely contested, each ending with a score of 25-19 but with different teams emerging victorious as the Bearcats won the first set and the Eagles took the second set. SBU came out hot in the third set, scoring seven of the first 10 points on the way to a 25-17 set win. The fourth set would prove to be the most closely contested set of them all, with teams trading points and never scoring more than three points in a row in the early stages. After five lead changes, the score was still deadlocked at 19 when SBU would pull ahead, adding one more lead change to the set. Avila kept it close, but the Bearcats emerged victorious 25-23, claiming victory for the entire match.
 
The Bearcats put in an impressive team offensive performance, highlighted by a stellar .375 team hitting percentage. This ranks first among all four-set games played by a Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) team so far this season. Southwest Baptist also totaled 55 kills, 47 assists, and eight service aces. All these statistics rank in the top 10 in four-set games played by a GLVC team this season (fourth, ninth, and second, respectively).
 
Largely responsible for the Bearcats' offensive output was freshman Evan Strahlendorf, who tied the team lead in kills for the game with 13. Strahlendorf also accumulated half of his team's service aces with four, a stat good enough to make the top ten by an individual GLVC player this season. Strahlendorf rounded out his statline with six digs and an assist.
 
Freshman Keahi Kaneakua also had a solid outing as he accounted for 66% of the Bearcats' assists with 31. Freshman Jeremiah Crecelius led the team in attack percentage with an astounding .909, ranking fifth among individual GLVC performances. Junior Nelson Castellanos led SBU in digs with 13, and freshman Lucas Phelan represented the other half of the Bearcat tie for the lead in kills at 13.
 
Southwest Baptist will return to action with their opening weekend of conference play against Maryville University. The first game is set to begin on Friday, March 6th at 6:00 p.m. from the Meyer Sports Center with a second game to follow on Saturday, March 7th at 2:00 p.m.