LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell volleyball took care of business on Friday night with a three set sweep of McKendree University to improve to 8-20 on the season and 4-8 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, tying their most conference wins since 2023.
Set one was a nail biter with each team trading runs early. The Cardinals used a 4-1 spurt, aided by two kills from
Macy Bartlett and
Wylie Singleton but McKendree followed with a 5-0 run of their own to take an 11-8 lead. Jewell stayed close, tying the score twice but each time the Bearcats responded with three points until late. Trailing 21-20, back-to-back attack errors by McKendree put the Cards on top by one. The two squads traded the next nine points as a kill from McKendree's Reece Distler gave the Bearcats set point, but kills from Singleton and
Kelsey Keling, combined with an error from McKendree gave Jewell three straight and a 29-27 opening set win.
The second frame was all Cardinals as the home team jumped out to a 12-3 advantage, behind two kills and an ace from Singleton, and never looked back. McKendree got as close as 23-16 late but
Silvia Fisher closed the door with a kill. Jewell broke out to a big early lead again in set three, on top 9-3 after a 6-0 run. McKendree didn't go down without a fight, pulling within one but back-to-back service aces from
Alexis Frazier helped the Cardinals pull away for the 25-22 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Jewell hit .220 on the match, led by Singleton's 11 kills.
- Brianna Witthar led the defense with 12 digs while Ashlynn Rowland had nine to go with two aces and five assists.
- Frazier handed 27 assists with Singleton posting a team high four blocks.
- The Cardinals had 11 service aces, as five different players had at least two, to mark the seventh double-digit ace performance of the year.
UP NEXT
Jewell will close the 2026 season on Saturday as they take on Missouri-St. Louis at noon. Senior Day festivities, recognizing four seniors, Rowland, Witthar,
Emily Brannan, and
Allie Vanderbeek will take place prior to first serve.
