SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Senior
Shelby Geers (Urbana, Ill.) recorded a career-high 17 kills and the University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team took its first-ever set from Bellarmine, but the Knights grabbed the 3-1 win (25-14, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23) on Friday evening at TRAC.
Geers hit .389 for the match with 36 total swings and just 3 errors. She also added three digs to her line. Freshman
Lexi Hall (Champaign, Ill.) tallied her third double-double and second in as many games with 25 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore
Becca Stoczynski (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) added a spark on the defense with 16 total digs on the night to go along with six kills.
To open the game, UIS jumped out to a 7-4 advantage, but the Knights quickly swung the game in their favor with a 13-3 run to lead 17-9. From there Bellarmine went on to win the match allowing UIS just five more points.
In set two, the Prairie Stars took off with a 7-1 lead forcing a BU timeout. The Knights then closed the gap to two, 12-10, and then to one, 19-18 late in the second stanza. Illinois Springfield then stayed on its game and ended the set on a 7-2 run to win 25-20.
Bellarmine then went on to take set three and four, hitting .250 and .324 in the final stanzas to win the match. Megan Kimbley topped the team with 11 kills on 26 attempts with just one error. Setter Allie Muha nearly missed a double-double with 36 assists and nine digs.
The Prairie Stars are back in action on Saturday against Southern Indiana. Match time is set for 3 p.m. at TRAC.
