SOMERS, Wis. - The Prairie Stars' season-finale came down to the wire Saturday evening at DeSimone Gymnasium, but Wisconsin-Parkside got the better of the University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team, winning 3-2 (25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 25-27, 15-12).
UIS ends the season with a 10-18 record including a 2-16 GLVC mark. The 10 wins are two better than the 2013 season. Senior
Shelby Geers (Urbana, Ill.) finishes with a team-high 269 kills.
Geers was in good form on Saturday, picking up 13 kills and a block-assist. Fellow senior
Haley Maxwell (Windsor, Ill.) added 11 kills and four block-assists.
The Rangers jumped out to an early 10-3 lead in the first set and never looked back. The Prairie Stars hung around, trailing by only six points, 17-11, after a Parkside service error, but the hosts took the momentum back with a 7-1 run, eventually winning the first set, 25-15.
The teams went back and forth in the second set with the score tied at five in the early going. After Parkside scored back-to-back to take a 7-5 advantage, the Prairie Stars scored four straight points to take a 9-7 lead. The Rangers eventually took back the lead and led UIS by two, 23-21 late in the set. The Prairie Stars uncorked a huge 4-0 run, which consisted of three UWP errors, to capture the second set, 25-23.
UIS went toe-to-toe with the Rangers in the third set, but a pair of Parkside runs, a 6-1 run to start the set and a 5-0 run to make the score 19-12, was just enough for the hosts to take the set 25-20.
The Prairie Stars were in danger of dropping the fourth set, and the match, after the Parkside looked in control with a 16-11 lead. UIS scored four of the next five points, including kills from Geers and junior
Nikki Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.). The Springfield squad kept the momentum going with a 3-0 run to tie the score at 18, eventually taking the lead, 24-23. After the Rangers fought back to tie the game at 25, the Prairie Stars scored consecutive points to tie the match at two sets a-piece.
In the fifth and decisive set, the score was tied at 11 before Parkside scored three straight points to take a three-point lead. Maxwell got the Prairie Stars within two but the Rangers held on to take the set and the match.
