SPRINGFIELD, IL - Behind 14 kills from senior middle blocker
Nikki Madoch, the University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team grabbed its first GLVC victory with a 3-1 win against William Jewell on Saturday afternoon at TRAC.
THE BASICS
RESULT: UIS 3, WJC 1 (25-23, 16-25, 25-20, 25-23)
RECORDS: UIS 3-10, 1-3 GLVC; WJC 4-9, 0-4 GLVC
UP NEXT: The Prairie Stars continue on their home court with Bellarmine on Friday, Oct. 2 before hosting Southern Indiana on October 3
TOP PRAIRIE STAR PERFORMERS- Madoch (Algonquin, Ill.) put down 14 kills and had no errors on 28 attempts en route to a season-best .500 attack percentage. She also had an ace and two block assists.
- Four other Stars had five or more kills with Emma Burkle (Crystal Lake, Ill.) getting eight on the day.
- Sophomore Lexi Hall (Champaign, Ill.) recorded her first double-double of the season with 22 assists and 11 digs. She also had one ace.
- Junior Kayla Katarzynski (Winfield, Ill.) joined the starting line up and recorded 19 digs and four assists. She was one of three total players who had four or more assists.
COACH'S CORNER
HOW IT HAPPENED- The difference in the game was 17 service errors for the Cardinals.
- UIS won the first set in a tightly matched game that featured seven tie scores and two lead changes. A kill from freshman
Alyssa Hasler (South Bend, Ill.) followed by an ace from
Rachelle Wiegand (Redbud, Ill.) secured the win.
- Set two was in the visitors hands from the early goings as the Cardinals raced out to a 12-5 advantage thanks to two service aces and three kills during the stretch. For the set, UIS hit just .054.
- After the break, the Stars turned it around and opened with the first point and never looked back. There wree four tie scores, the last one at 12-12, but UIS buckled down and hit an impressive .375 with just two miscues for the set.
- With the momentum swinging in the Prairie Stars' favor, the home team worked hard to make it a four-set match. UIS jumped out to a 4-0 lead to force Jewell to call a timeout, but it faired well for the Cards as they tied the game at 15-all.
- The Stars took control of the match and jumped out in front on a service error and attack error followed by a Madoch ace.
- Despite Jewell pulling to within one late in the match, a final kill from Madoch secured the team's first GLVC win.
FOR THE CARDINALS- Raechel Meisinger led the team with 18 kills, while Kaylee Marquardt recorded 16.
- As a team, William Jewell hit .221 compared to UIS' .180.
- Five players had double-digit dig totals with libero Olivia Tolbert leading the way with 13.
- Setter Stef Richterkessing had a double-double with 38 assists and 10 digs.
Make sure to follow all things UIS Volleyball at @UISVolleyball on Twitter and UISPrairieStars.com.
