SPRINGFIELD, IL --- Illinois Springfield (5-5, 0-2) fell in five sets to Quincy (5-5, 1-1) to close out their first home conference weekend of the season. UIS fell in the opening set but rallied to take the next two, with the third in dominating fashion. However, the Prairie Stars couldn't hang on, dropping the final two sets in the five set decision.

UIS fell behind early in the opening set and could never make up the ground. Quincy took a 17-11 lead before UIS rallied to take five of six points to cut the deficit to just 19-17. The Hawks never allowed it to get any closer as they took the opener 25-21.

The second set was much of the same except with the roles reversed. UIS took an early lead before Quincy cut it to 13-10 completing a 4-2 rally. The Hawks tied the set at 21 after scoring five of six points but the Prairie Stars were unfazed, closing the set with four of the final five points. Three Quincy errors aided the rally with a kill by Rachel Cobert pushing UIS over the edge.

In the third, UIS dominated from start to finish, taking an early 8-4 lead thanks to a four serve run from Tiffany Wentworth which included an ace and two kills from Alyssa Hasler. Later in the set, Kayla Katarzynski rattled off six consecutive points, utilizing an ace and two more kills from Hasler. The Prairie Stars cruised to a 25-14 win, taking control of the match.

Quincy came out firing in the fourth, taking an early 5-1 lead, capitalizing on a couple UIS errors. The Prairie Stars retaliated with a 5-1 run of their own to knot the set at six each. However, Quincy took the lead back and never let it go. The Hawks closed the set by scoring seven of the final nine points, taking the set 25-18.  

Continuing the back-and-forth battle, the two teams traded blows in the fifth set before Quincy rattled off four straight points to take a 9-5 lead. UIS scored their final three points on kills from Hasler, but it wasn't enough as Quincy closed out the final set 15-10, taking the match.

Hasler ended the match with a game-high 19 kills, a career-high for the sophomore, eclipsing her previous best of 16 on September 12^th of last year against Mary. The South Bend native had just four errors on 37 attacks, good for an astounding .405 hitting percentage. Her counterpart, Alli Splitt, added 17 kills against just four errors on 41 attacks.

Katarzynski led the way with 18 digs while Courtney Schutt added 17 digs and a kill. Wentworth tallied four kills with 32 assists as Lexi Hall had five digs and 22 assists.

UIS will head on the road for more GLVC action next week, taking on William Jewell on Friday before facing off against Rockhurst on Saturday. Rockhurst is currently ranked 26^th in the nation in the AVCA poll.