SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The Prairie Stars volleyball team will welcome in Drury University and Missouri S&T to begin the final stretch of the season. With ten matches left --- nine in conference --- the Prairie Stars will play their next three matches at home before hitting the road for six of the final seven.

SETTING THE SCENE
The Prairie Stars (13-8, 5-4) are currently in the middle of their most successful season in program history, setting a record for wins in a season, breaking the previous record of 11, set last year. UIS currently sits in second place in the GLVC central division and 8^th place overall. UIS is coming off winning two of three matches at the Midwest Crossover and have been victorious in five of their last seven.

Drury University (17-6, 6-4) comes into the weekend in second place in the GLVC west division and tied for sixth overall. The Panthers won two of three at the Midwest Classic but lost to Lake Erie 3-1, who the Prairie Stars beat by that same score. The Panthers are winners of three of their last four, but have lost their last three conference matches.

Missouri S&T (8-14, 1-8) enters the weekend fifth in the GLVC west division and 14^th overall in the GLVC. Their lone conference win came against Maryville on September 23^rd, but have since dropped their next five conference matches, all in straight sets. However, the Miners won all three of their matches at the Midwest Crossover.

ATTACK AND DEFENSE
The Prairie Stars continue to be among the leagues' best teams in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage. UIS is fourth in the league in attack percentage, hitting at a .222 clip, but sits behind Drury at .224. However, UIS holds opponents to a mere .157 hitting percentage, which is third in the league.

Individually, Alyssa Hasler leads the way for UIS with a .349 attack percentage, which is second best in UIS history in the Division II era. Defensively, Hasler is the league's premier defender, totaling 105 blocks and 1.38 per set. These numbers put her atop the league in both categories and fourth in the nation.

A LOOK AT THE LAST SIX
Over the last six matches, UIS has had some big performances, most notably, from junior setter Tiffany Wentworth. In six matches, Wentworth has totaled 272 assists, averaging 11.83 per set. On the season, Wentworth has 547 total assists, putting her sixth all-time for a single-season with 10 matches to play.

Additionally, Hasler has 60 total kills against just 12 errors in that span while Taylor Bauer leads the way with 89 total kills. Jailyn Borum has five double-doubles in that span, with four matches of over 20 digs. Borum has recorded a double-double in her last five matches.

ALL-TIME RESULTS
UIS is 0-9 all-time against Drury, dropping five of those matches at home. From October of 2011-November of 2012, these two teams met three times and went to five sets in each match. UIS fell in straight sets at Drury last season.

UIS is 1-10 all-time against Missouri S&T, picking up their lone win in 2008, prior to joining the GLVC. UIS has taken a set off of Missouri S&T just four times, but did so last year in a 3-1 loss in Rolla, Missouri.

WINNING PERCENTAGE
Through 21 matches, UIS has played the 54^th toughest schedule in the nation and sixth toughest in the GLVC. To date, UIS opponents have a cumulative .565 winning percentage but as of now, the next ten matches for UIS have a combined record of 84-121 (.410). UIS will face only four teams with a winning record in the last ten matches.

COMING UP NEXT
Following this conference weekend, UIS will host Robert Morris-Springfield on Friday, October 27^th on what will serve as Senior Night for the Prairie Stars. However, UIS will then hit the road for six of the final seven matches, returning home for the final time to face Maryville University on November 7^th.

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