SPRINGFIELD, IL - The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team won the first set against Wisconsin Parkside but dropped the next three in a 3-1 loss to the Rangers Saturday afternoon at the Recreation and Athletic Center.
The BasicsThe Result: UWP 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-23)
Records: UIS (5-19, 2-9 GLVC), UWP (17-6, 7-3 GLVC)
Location: Springfield, Ill. - TRAC)
UIS Top Performers- Junior Ashley Beaton (Wildwood, Mo.): finished with a team-high 10 kills to go with a .259 hitting percentage.
- Freshman Tiffany Wentworth (Omaha, Neb.): finished with 21 assists and 13 digs. Also added a pair of service aces.
How It Happened- The teams traded points in the early stages of the first set. A pair of kills from senior Heather Smack (St. Louis, Mo.) helped the Prairie Stars take a 5-4 lead. With the score tied 5-5, UIS got hot with two kills from freshman Emma Burkle (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and a service ace from Nora Palermo (West Chicago, Ill.), giving the hosts a 9-5 lead.
- The Rangers fought back to tie the game at 13 and again at 16. The Prairie Stars opened up another run, this time a 5-1 run to take control of the set. The teams traded points and UIS eventually took the first set, 25-21.
- Parkside wasted no time in the second stanza, taking advantage of four UIS errors to open the set on a 5-0 run. The Prairie Stars never recovered and the visitors grabbed the second set, 25-14.
- A kill by Ashley Beaton in the third set tied the score, 8-8. The Rangers five of the next six points to take a 13-9 lead. Parkside extended its lead to as many as nine on its way to a 25-17 third set win.
- The Rangers used another fast start in the fourth game, scoring four straight points. UIS matched them with a 4-0 run of their own that included kills from senior Nikki Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.) and Heather Smack to take the lead. 6-5.
- The fourth set was incredibly close as there were 10 ties after the Prairie Stars took a 6-5 lead. With the score tied at 23, the Rangers used back-to-back kills to finish the set and grab the victory.
Coming Up Next- UIS travels to Maryville and UMSL next weekend.