BOLIVAR, Mo.  --  Missouri S&T Men's Volleyball will face the Southwest Baptist Bearcats this weekend in a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matches. The series marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs, as the Bearcats are competing in their inaugural season.
 
About the Miners
S&T is on a three-match win streak, taking nine of their last eleven sets. They sit at 10-5 overall with a 4-2 record against GLVC opponents. They currently rank fourth in the conference standings, sitting two matches behind Maryville and one match behind Roosevelt and Rockhurst.

The Miners rank ninth in Division I/II for hitting percentage, led by Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) who is 13th nationally with a .378 and aided by Camden Seaver's (Palatine, IL/William Fremd) .333 that ranks him 31st in the country. Grant Edmonds (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) remains locked as a top five setter in the country, averaging the fourth-most assists per set at 10.39.

The S&T defense ranks 18th in digs per set and 45th in blocks per set. Bartosz Chmielewski (Aurora, IL/Metea Valley) and Edmonds both rank top 90 in the country for digs per set, with Chmielewski's 2.09 average landing him 28th in the nation. Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) is the team's top blocker, ranking 3rd in the conference and 48th in the country with .857 blocks per set.
 
About the Bearcats
Southwest Baptist is 8-7 this year but are still seeking their first win against a conference opponent. After starting the season 8-1, the Bearcats dropped their first three GLVC pairs, falling to Maryville, Roosevelt, and Rockhurst while only claiming one set against the trio.

Aces have been the Bearcats' largest offensive asset this year. They rank 3rd in the GLVC and 20th in the nation for aces per set, averaging 1.48. Evan Strahlendorf leads the team in aces per set (.440) and hitting percentage (.278), ranking 19th nationally in the former. Lucas Phelan is the Bearcats' kills and points leader, averaging 3.45 and 4.00 per set, respectively.

Nelson Castellanos is SBU's headliner defensively, ranking fourth in NCAA Division I/II for digs per set with 2.67. The Bearcats rank 15th as a team in digs per set, averaging 9.38.
 
What's Next
The Miners are back in Gibson next weekend, with a GLVC pair against Thomas More on Friday at 6pm and Saturday at 2pm.
 
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