AURORA, IL --- The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team won two of their three matches at the Midwest Crossover, the largest volleyball tournament in the country. With 36 teams competing from three conferences, UIS (13-8, 5-4) dropped their first match to Grand Valley State but won their next two, beating Lake Erie College and Davenport University.

MATCH ONE: GRAND VALLEY STATE 3, ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 2
In an evenly contested match, Grand Valley State came out and won the first set 25-18 behind 19 kills and a .389 attack percentage. UIS responded with a 25-21 second set win, using a 6-1 run to take a 15-13 lead and then scored four of five to take control of the set.

In the third set, UIS suffered heartbreak as the Prairie Stars held a 24-21 lead but Grand Valley came back with five consecutive points to take the set 26-24.

UIS responded with a fourth set win, using a stretch of scoring five of six points to take an early 11-6 advantage and then nine of the next 12 to go up 21-11 and cruise to a 25-16 win. Grand Valley took to the final set 15-12 though, giving UIS their second straight loss.

Taylor Bauer led with 18 kills while Jailyn Borum added 16, and Alyssa Hasler 15. Alli Splitt had 14 kills and Tiffany Wentworth totaled a career-high 59 assists.

UIS attacked at a .300 clip for the match.

MATCH TWO: ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 3, LAKE ERIE 1
UIS bounced back after the tough loss with a four set victory over Lake Erie, behind another 18 kills from Bauer. The Prairie Stars dropped the opening set 25-22 but responded with a dominating 25-16 win and then took set three 25-19. UIS closed out the match with a 25-23 victory to close out the night.

Bauer led the team again with 18 kills while Borum and Hasler each added 12. Wentworth added an additional 45 assists to go along with her 59 previously.

MATCH THREE: ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 3, DAVENPORT 0
In dominating fashion, UIS won their second match of the crossover with a sweep of Davenport University. UIS won the first two sets 25-17 and closed with a 25-13 win in the third set. Borum was the lone Prairie Star with double-digit kills with 12 but UIS had just 14 errors on the match. Wentworth added 39 assists in the route while UIS totaled 16 total blocks.

PRAIRIE STAR NOTES: UIS broke the single-season Division II wins record with their 12^th win … Alyssa Hasler totaled 35 kills against just four errors, attacking at a .431 clip … Taylor Bauer totaled a team-high 45 kills … Tiffany Wentworth added 143 assists over three matches and her 59 are a UIS single-match record … Jailyn Borum totaled 40 kills and 60 digs, averaging a double-double

COMING UP NEXT
UIS will return to conference play as they welcome in Drury University on Friday for a 7:00 PM match. On Saturday, Missouri S&T comes to town for a 3:00 PM match. Senior day for UIS will be on Friday, October 27^th before UIS plays six of their final seven matches on the road.