AURORA, IL - Three players recorded double-digit kills for the University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team but timely hitting helped Walsh defeat UIS in fives set at the Mizuno Midwest Regional Crossover.

The Basics
The Result: Walsh 3-2 (25-20, 27-29, 15-25, 25-19, 16-14)
Records: Walsh (6-13), UIS (5-16)
Location: Aurora, Ill. - Great Lakes Center

UIS Top Performers

• Freshman Alyssa Hasler (South Bend, Ind.): recorded a game-high 13 kills to go with a .407 hitting percentage. She also finished with five block assists.
• Senior Nikki Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.): finished with 12 kills and added five block assists.
• Freshman Emma Burkle (Crystal Lake, Ill.): career-high 12 kills on 33 attempts. She also collected three block assists and a dig.

How It Happened

• The Prairie Stars held a 3-1 lead in the first set, but a 6-0 run by Walsh gave the Cavaliers a four-point lead that they held for the rest of the set.
• UIS got as close as one point at 9-8, but Walsh had all the answers on the way to 25-20 first-set win.
• The second set was extremely close. There were 20 ties in the set and the teams hit for an almost identical percentage (Walsh - .195, UIS - .186).
• Walsh earned its first set point at 24-23 after a UIS error, but the Prairie Stars tied the game on an error by Walsh. After another Walsh point and a UIS timeout, the Prairie Stars responded with back-to-back kills from junior Ashley Beaton (Wildwood, Mo.) and Nikki Madoch to give UIS a 26-25 lead. After the teams traded points again, the score was tied at 27. Two Walsh errors ended the set as the Prairie Stars won 29-27.
• The third set belonged to the Prairie Stars from the get-go. UIS opened the set on a 5-1 run and then a used 6-0 run later to take a 19-13 lead. UIS grabbed the set, 25-15, along with a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The fourth set was close early on as the score was 15-14 in favor of Walsh after back-to-back kills by Nikki Madoch. The Cavaliers broke the set open with a 5-0 run that included a pair of kills and three UIS errors. UIS got back within four on an ace by junior Nora Palermo (West Chicago, Ill.) but Walsh won the set, 25-19.
• The Prairie Stars looked to be in control of the decisive fifth set after taking a 9-2 lead. During the run, Walsh committed five errors. The Cavaliers scored five crucial points in-a-row to get back into the match. Later in the set, the Prairie Stars lost their lead on a 3-0 run from Walsh that saw the score tied at 13.
• A kill by Alyssa Hasler gave the Prairie Stars match point but Walsh was perfect in the final moments, tying the game on a kill, taking the lead on a service ace and then winning the match on another kill.

Coming Up Next

• The Prairie Stars take on Northwood at 4 p.m. today at the Great Lakes Center.