SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team fell in straight sets to Missouri S&T, 25-12, 25-19, 25-20, Saturday afternoon at TRAC.

The Basics
The Result: MST 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-20)
Records: UIS (5-23, 2-13 GLVC); MST (20-9, 11-4 GLVC)
Location: Springfield, Ill. - TRAC

UIS Top Performers

• Senior Nikki Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.): tallied a team-high eight kills on 17 attempts; also added a pair of block assists and an ace.
• Junior Ashley Beaton (Wildwood, Mo.): finished with seven kills and posted a team-highs in hitting percentage (.333), aces (2) and digs (10).

How It Happened

• Before the match, the Prairie Stars' three seniors, Nikki Madoch, Heather Smack and Rachelle Wiegand were recognized short ceremony. The trio will play at TRAC for the final time on Tuesday.
• After scoring the first point of the match on a kill by Beaton, the Prairie Stars struggled to find their groove against the Miners as the visitors scored five straight points to take a 5-1 lead. After a UIS timeout, the two teams traded points and a kill by junior Nora Palermo (West Chicago, Ill.) made the score 6-3. The Miners went on another run capped off by a UIS error to make the score 10-3.
• UIS closed the gap to five, 12-7, after an error by S&T, but that was as close as the hosts came. The Miners were on fire in the first set, posting 19 kills and a .552 hitting percentage en route to a 25-12 first set win.
• A service ace from Beaton gave UIS an early 3-2 lead in the second stanza. With the score 5-4 in favor of the Miners, the Prairie Stars used three consecutive Miners' errors to retake the lead at 7-5.
• A kill by S&T's Claire Friedlund brought the visitors within one, 10-9. UIS took control of the set with a 6-2 run that kills from Beaton, Madoch and senior Heather Smack (St. Louis, Mo.). The hosts maintained its five-point edge at 18-13, but the visitors would not stay down. A kill by S&T's Gracie Moon opened up a 12-1 run to help the Miners come back and take the second set, 25-19.
• The Prairie Stars jumped out to an early lead in the third frame, pushing their advantage to four after back-to-back kills from Madoch. S&T went on another run to retake the lead, this time a 5-0 run capped off by a kill from Carlie Combs. Another kill from Madoch tied the game at seven before the Miners scored seven straight points on four kills, two aces and an error. After the lead was pushed to eight later in the set, the Prairie Stars began to mount a comeback. An 8-3 run made the score 23-20 in favor of the Miners. 
• UIS was unable to complete the rally as S&T won the third set and the match.

Coming Up Next

• The Prairie Stars are back in action against McKendree on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at TRAC for their final home game of the regular season.