2023 McKendree Bearcats men's volleyball team

2023 McKendree Bearcats men's volleyball
Conference	Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
Record	7–15 (1–13 MIVA)
Head coach	Nickie Sanlin (10th season)
Assistant coach	Jorge Collazo (1st season)
Home arena	Melvin Price Convocation Center
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 McKendree Bearcats men's volleyball team represented McKendree University in the 2023 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. The Bearcats, led by tenth year head coach Nickie Sanlin, ^{[1] [2]} played their home games at Melvin Price Convocation Center. The Bearcats were members of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and were picked to finish fifth the MIVA in the preseason poll. ^[3]

2023 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 13 Loyola Chicago  ‍†‍‍	11	–	3		.786			21	–	7		.750
No. 11 Ball State  ‍†‍‍	11	–	3		.786			20	–	9		.690
No. 7 Ohio State  ‍†‍‡‍y	11	–	3		.786			23	–	10		.697
Lewis  ‍‍‍	7	–	7		.500			17	–	13		.567
Purdue Fort Wayne  ‍‍‍	7	–	7		.500			16	–	13		.552
Lindenwood  ‍‍‍	7	–	7		.500			10	–	13		.435
Quincy  ‍‍‍	1	–	13		.071			8	–	19		.296
McKendree  ‍‍‍	1	–	13		.071			7	–	16		.304
† – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 MIVA Tournament champion y- Invited to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament As of March 27, 2025 Rankings from AVCA

Roster

2023 McKendree Bearcats roster [4]
	Defensive Specialist/Libero 1 Francisco Comas - Graduate 4 Robby Nardoni - Freshman 9 Jay Miller - Freshman Middle Blockers 2 Daniel Duggan - Senior 15 Jacob Gall - Senior 21 Maxwell Wootton - Freshman 24 Rolen Lively - Freshman		Outside Hitters 6 Tyler Tripp - Sophomore 8 Aric Olsen - Freshman 10 Bryce Wetjen - Freshman 11 Joseph Watkins - Freshman 12 Cesar Contreras - Junior 13 Sam Hoskins - Freshman 17 Matthew Molnar - Freshman 19 Kevin Schuele - Sophomore 20 Kyle Wilson - Junior		Opposite Hitters 7 Jackson Sheehy - Freshman 18 Nikos Xydakis - Junior Setters 3 Tyler Poulsen - Junior 5 Jack Morikawa - Freshman

Schedule

TV/Internet Streaming information:

All home games will be televised on GLVC SN. Most road games will also be streamed on the oppositions streaming service.

Date Time	Opponent	Rank (Tournament Seed)	Arena City (Tournament)	Television	Score	Attendance	Record (MIVA Record)
1/06 8 p.m.	@ BYU		Smith Fieldhouse Provo, UT	BYUtv	L 0–3 (20–25, 21–25, 20–25) [5]	N/A	0–1
1/07 5 p.m.	vs. #8 UC Irvine		Smith Fieldhouse Provo, UT	byutv.org	L 0–3 (34–36, 15–25, 19–25)	152	0-2
1/10 7 p.m.	NJIT		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	W 3–1 (25–22, 25–21, 21–25, 25–20)	250	1–2
1/20 7 p.m.	Central State		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	Canceled
1/27 4 p.m.	vs. St. Francis		Malkin Athletic Center Cambridge, MA (Harvard Invitational)		W 3–1 (18-25, 25–16, 25–21, 26–24)	78	2-2
1/28 7 p.m.	@ Harvard		Malkin Athletic Center Cambridge, MA (Harvard Invitational)	ESPN+	W 3–2 (20-25, 25–19, 25–22, 22–25, 15–10)	115	3-2
2/03 7 p.m.	Missouri S&T		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	W 3–1 (25-9, 25–20, 23–25, 25–9)		4-2
2/04 7:30 p.m.	LIU		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	W 3–0 (25-22, 25–20, 26–24)	60	5-2
2/09 7:30 p.m.	@ #11 Ohio State*		Covelli Center Columbus, OH	B1G+	L 1-3 (23-25, 25–22, 18–25, 21–25)	340	5-3 (0-1)
2/11 5 p.m.	@ #9 Ball State*		Worthen Arena Muncie, IN	ESPN+	L 1-3 (21-25, 23–25, 25–23, 20–25)	1,242	5-4 (0-2)
2/15 7 p.m.	Lindenwood*		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	L 1-3 (17-25, 25–17, 26–28, 26–28)	243	5-5 (0-3)
2/17 7 p.m.	@ Quincy*		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	W 3-0 (25-23, 25–19, 25–23)	107	6-5 (1-3)
2/22 7 p.m.	Purdue Fort Wayne*		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	L 1-3 (22-25, 22–25, 25–23, 20–25)	147	6-6 (1-4)
2/25 7 p.m.	@ #10 Loyola Chicago*		Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL	ESPN+	L 1-3 (23-25, 25–21, 21–25, 14–25)	749	6-7 (1-5)
3/03 7 p.m.	Lewis*		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	L 2-3 (25-23, 25–20, 22–25, 21–25, 10–15)	175	6-8 (1-6)
3/10 6 p.m.	Loyola Chicago*		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	L 2-3 (25-20, 28–26, 22–25, 22–25, 13–15)	167	6-9 (1-7)
3/10 7 p.m.	King		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	Canceled
3/18 7 p.m.	@ Lewis*		Neil Carey Arena Romeoville, IL	GLVC SN	L 0-3 (23-25, 23–25, 22–25)	400	6-10 (1-8)
3/23 7 p.m.	@ Purdue Fort Wayne*		Hilliard Gates Sports Center Ft. Wayne, IN	ESPN+	L 2-3 (23-25, 19–25, 25–22, 26–24, 13–15)	546	6-11 (1-9)
3/30 7 p.m.	#12 Ball State*		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	L 0-3 (18-25, 21–25, 20–25)	100	6-12 (1-10)
4/01 7 p.m.	#13 Ohio State*		Melvin Price Convocation Center Lebanon, IL	GLVC SN	L 1-3 (21-25, 24–26, 25–20, 24–26)	120	6-13 (1-11)
4/06 7 p.m.	@ Quincy*		Pepsi Arena Quincy, IL	GLVC SN	L 2-3 (25-27, 25–16, 24–26, 25–19, 13–15)	585	6-14 (1-12)
4/08 5 p.m.	@ Lindenwood*		Robert F. Hyland Arena St. Charles, MO	ESPN+	L 1-3 (33-31, 23–25, 22–25, 21–25)		6-15 (1-13)
4/15 7 p.m.	#11 Loyola Chicago (2)	(7)	Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL (MIVA Quarterfinals)		W 3-2 (19-25, 25–23, 25–20, 20–25, 15–12)	598	7-15

*-Indicates conference match.

Times listed are Central Time Zone.

Announcers for televised games

• BYU: Jarom Jordan, Steve Vail, & Kenzie Koerber
• UC Irvine: No commentary
• NJIT: Alex Gruberman
• Central State:
• Harvard:
• Missouri S&T:
• LIU:
• Ohio State:
• Ball State:
• Lindenwood:
• Quincy:
• Purdue Fort Wayne:
• Loyola Chicago:
• Lewis:
• King:
• Lewis:
• Purdue Fort Wayne:
• Ball State:
• Ohio State:
• Quincy:
• Lindenwood:

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AVCA Coaches						RV										RV
Off the Block Media	Not released

^The Media did not release a Pre-season poll.

References

1. "Nickie Sanlin juggles job, life as head men's and women's coach at McKendree". Volleyball Mag. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
2. "McKendree volleyball coach honored for leading Bearcats through adversity". Belleville News-Democrat . Retrieved May 23, 2019.
3. "Ball State picked to win MIVA in tightly contested preseason poll". Off the Block. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
4. "2023 Men's Volleyball Roster - The Official Site of McKendree Athletics". mckbearcats.com.
5. "BYU men's volleyball sweeps McKendree in season opener". Daily Herald . Retrieved January 6, 2023.