LOUISVILLE, KY - The Prairie Stars defeated the Bellarmine Knights, 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23), to tie the program record for the most conference wins in a season Saturday afternoon.

With the win the University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team swept their final weekend series this season and moved to 4-14 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, doubling their GLVC win total from last season. The win was the second against Bellarmine this season.

"Today we played a steady match," said head coach Trey Salinas. "We connected well in the middle and were consistent with our blocking scheme. Keeping our unforced errors low was a key factor to our success in this match along with a great defensive effort.

Freshman Alyssa Hasler (South Bend, Ind.) finished one kill shy of her career-high with 15 on the day. She posted a .481 hitting percentage and a game-high seven total blocks to lead the Springfield squad.

UIS kicked off the match the right way as freshman Tiffany Wentworth (Omaha, Neb.) picked up an ace for the first point of the match. The Prairie Stars quickly took a 6-2 lead in the first set. Later in the set, Bellarmine used a 3-0 run to pull within two, 12-10, and eventually came with one, 16-15. The Prairie Stars responded with five straight points capped off by back-to-back kills from Hasler. UIS would win the first set 25-22.

The Knights came back in the second set and took control early. With the score tied at six, the hosts used an 8-1 run to open up a 14-7 advantage that they used to win the second set, 25-19. The Prairie Stars grabbed the momentum right back heading into the third stanza. Senior Heather Smack (St. Louis, Mo.) collected two of her seven kills to help UIS take an early 5-1 lead. 

The Prairie Stars maintained its advantage and held a three point lead, 9-6 after a Bellarmine kill. That was when the set turned. UIS broke open the frame with an 8-0 run to make the score 17-6. UIS withstood a late run from the Knights to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Bellarmine needed to win the fourth set to extend the match and the Knights capitalized in early going to take an 8-5 lead. UIS cut the lead to just one, 11-10, but then a 5-1 run by the Knights made the score 16-11 in favor of the hosts. Later in the set, the Prairie Stars trailed by four, 17-13, after a kill from Hasler. That kill kick started a 9-2 run for the Prairie Stars that saw them take the lead for the first time since the beginning of the set.

After the teams traded points, a kill from senior Nikki Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.) gave the Prairie Stars match point, which they won on a Bellarmine error. 

"We're very pleased to end the season on two great performances."