SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team fought off a late comeback in the fourth set to take down visiting William Jewell, 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 25-22), on Senior Night on Saturday evening at The Recreation and Athletic Center.

Celebrating senior night in style, Shelby Geers (Urbana, Ill.) struck down 13 kills to lead the team while also posting two block assists. Junior Nikki Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.) knocked 10 kills down and hit a season-best .417 for the match recording no errors on 24 attempts. Sophomore Becca Stoczynski (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) just missed double-figure kills with nine, while also digging up four balls.

Sophomore Kayla Katarzynski (Winfield, Ill.) dug up 16 balls and sits at 884 for her career to hold the top spot in the UIS Division II annals. Classmate Ashley Beaton (Wildwood, Mo.) had a career-best 16 digs as well, while freshman Lexi Hall (Champaign, Ill.) recorded a double-double with 28 assists and 10 kills.

The Prairie Stars (9-15, 2-13 GLVC) held an early 6-3 lead before William Jewell sparked an 8-5 run to tie the game at 11-all. The Cardinals (3-22, 1-14 GLVC) kept their momentum going as they continued to hold a lead until 19-18 when Geers knocked down a kills. UIS took back the lead on four straight Jewell errors before getting the final kill from Geers to take the set.

Set two was in the Cardinals favor for most of the frame. There were seven tie scores in the early going, but UIS was unable to overcome strong hitting from William Jewell. UIS got as close as two, 12-10 on a kill from sophomore Nora Palermo (West Chicago, Ill.), but it was Jewell's game to take.

Illinois Springfield came out firing in the third stanza as it rushed out to an 11-6 advantage. The game only tied twice as UIS went on to take the 2-1 lead. The Prairie Stars hit a game-high .406, with just one error on 32 swings.

In the fourth and final set, William Jewell attempted to make a comeback at the end, rattling off eight straight points, but senior Haley Maxwell (Windsor, Ill.) wanted to make her senior night memorable and set down the final kill to give UIS the victory.

For Jewell, Christina Prat recorded 18 including four in the late points of the fourth set. She hit .400 on the day with just four errors on 35 attempts. Kaylee Marquardt also finished in double digits with 11 kills.

UIS continues GLVC play against Rockhurst at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Hawks took McKendree to five sets and came away with the win to improve to 22-3 overall on the season.