SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Four McKendree players tallied double-figure kills as the Bearcats defeated the University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team, 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-23, -19) on Tuesday evening at The Recreation and Athletic Center.

For the Prairie Stars, junior Nikki Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.) led the way with 13 kills on 24 total swings with just two miscues for a .458 attack percentage. Madoch also tallied five block assists on the night Senior Shelby Geers (Urbana, Ill.) joined her in double digits with 10 kills and a .320 hitting percentage, while throwing back four block assists. Freshman Lexi Hall (Champaign, Ill.) and junior Rachelle Wiegand (Redbud, Ill.) each recorded double-doubles for UIS. Hall recorded 22 assists with 13 digs, while Wiegand saw her first action of the year and tallied 16 assists and 10 digs.

In the opening stanza, the match was even at 7-7 and then McKendree opened a 112-3 run that was finally ended on a Bearcat error. McKendree tallied five straight kills during the run including two each from Arela Williams and Lauren Apetz. The Prairie Stars pulled to within eight on a kill from Geers and two McKendree miscues, but it was not enough as back-to-back UIS errors put McKendree up 1-0.

The second set saw 10 ties and five lead changes with the final one coming at 22-all when a third straight error put the game in UIS' favor for the final time. The Prairie Stars took the lead with kills from Geers and sophomore Becca Stoczynski (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) before a UIS error looked to push the game back in McKendree's favor, but a final misplay on an attack gave UIS the second set victory.

There were 12 ties and four lead changes, but McKendree took the late lead to own a 2-1 advantage. The Prairie Stars held a 22-20 lead late in the set before McKendree scored five of the final six points to swing the lead back to its favor. Kelsey Johnson landed a kill to tie the score at 23-all before Williams scored off another attack to take the set. Despite dropping the frame, UIS hit a match-high .367 in the third set with just two attacking errors on 30 attempts.

In the fourth set, McKendree took control early, scoring the first five points and seven of the first nine. The Bearcats extended their lead to as many as 10 to take the win.

For the game, McKendree out-hit UIS, .218 to .194, while recording 61 kills to the Prairie Stars' 43. Sophie Fairman topped the team with 14 kills, while Apetz and Johnson recorded, 13 and 12, respectively.

After a five-game homestand, the Prairie Stars now head out on the road for three matches. UIS heads to Saint Joseph's to kick it off on Friday, Oct. 3 in Rensselaer, Ind. for a 7 p.m. match.