SPRINGFIELD, IL - The University of Illinois Springfield spends one more weekend on the road as it begins Great Lakes Valley Conference play at Quincy and Truman on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
For the second straight season, the Prairie Stars begin conference action away from TRAC. Last season, UIS dropped two 3-1 decisions to Truman. The Stars grabbed a 3-1 victory against Quincy as one of its two GLVC victories last year.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR- Junior Ashley Beaton (Wildwood, Mo.) currently leads the team in kills with 112 and ranks seventh in the conference. Beaton's 24 kills in five sets against St. Cloud State is a career-best and leads the GLVC this season.
- Senior Nikki Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.) is one of the team's hottest hitters with a .309 hitting percentage. She owns 86 kills and 24 total blocks.
- Freshman Alyssa Hasler (South Bend, Ind.) is dangerous on the block as she owns a team-best 32 blocks and has six block solos.
- Another freshman that has stepped up is Tiffany Wentworth (Omaha, Neb.) with the Prairie Stars' offense running through her. She has 261 assists and owns a team-best 96 digs.
COACH'S THOUGHTS
QUINCY- The Hawks are 4-5 on the year after going 2-2 at its first two tournaments before picking up a loss at Lindenwood on Tuesday.
- Bekah Raebel is the team's leading attacker at 2.53 per set and an .350 attack percentage.
- A pair of setters, Miranda Rodriguez and Cassandra Cahill, runn the offense with 154 and 131 helpers, respectively.
- Quincy ranks 12th in the league in hitting percentage and has hit above .200 just three times this season.
TRUMAN- Truman is 5-3 on the season and went 2-2 in the same tournament that UIS participated in to start the year. The Bulldogs however, walked away with wins from Mary and Western State.
- Ali Paterson ranks fifth in blocks, while Matti Mason is ninth in assists in conference stat categories.
- The Bulldogs were picked to finish second in the GLVC West. Truman won the GLVC conference tournament a year ago.
- Kayla Bastian is the main hitter with a team-best 86 kills, but three others have more than 50 kill through the first eight matches.
UP NEXTThe Prairie Stars finally return home to open their schedule at TRAC on Friday, Sept. 25 against Rockhurst. Game time is set for 7 p.m. UIS then welcomes William Jewell to Springfield for a 3 p.m. match on Saturday.
