SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team prepares for their first Great Lakes Valley Conference championship appearance, where they will take on Bellarmine University in the opening round.

THE BASICS
#5 Illinois Springfield will take on #4 Bellarmine in the 5:30 PM match on Friday, November 17^th. It will be the third match of the tournament.

The winner of this match will take on the winner of #1 Lewis and #8 Indianapolis at 5:30 PM on Saturday.

A full look at the bracket it available here. For all things GLVC Volleyball tournament related, visit the Championship Page of the GLVC site.  

The GLVC will also be streaming the Red Carpet Show at the volleyball awards banquet. Catch the action, here. 

SETTING THE SCENE
As stated, this is the first time in UIS history that the volleyball team has advanced to the GLVC Championship. Joining the conference in 2009, UIS has never cracked into the top-eight, until this year, garnering the five-seed in the 15-team conference.

UIS (21-10, 12-6) used a ten-match winning streak at the end of the year, to catapult into one of the league's best teams. Despite falling in consecutive five-set matches to end the season, UIS garnered the fifth-seed and will face fourth-seeded Bellarmine.

Bellarmine (23-7, 13-5) and UIS met just once this season, with the Knights coming away with a 3-0 win in Springfield on September 29^th.

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING
The 21-wins that the Prairie Stars have racked up this season are a program-high, obliterating the previous record of 11, which was set last season. UIS started the year 4-0 at the Capital Classic, then had two separate winning streaks of three games each before rattling off 10 consecutive wins, beginning at the Midwest Regional Crossover.

The streak ended in the penultimate match of the season with a five-set loss to McKendree and then another five-set loss at Missouri-St. Louis.

UIS is 3-3 this season at a neutral site, going 1-3 at the Lindenwood Challenge in the second weekend of the year and 2-1 at the Midwest Crossover.

ALL-TIME RESULTS
UIS is 3-6 all-time against the Knights, but have won three of the last five meetings. The two teams have never met at a neutral site.

LET'S TALK STATS
As a team, the Prairie Stars rank third in the GLVC in attack percentage, hitting at a .225 clip on the season. They were one of six teams to finish the regular season with above a .200 attack percentage. On the flip side, UIS ranked second in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to a mere .135 attack percentage.

Led by Alyssa Hasler, UIS ranked third in the league in blocks, turning away 2.49 per set and a total of 276.5 on the season.

Individually, Hasler finished second in the league in attack percentage, hitting at a .347 mark. She also led the league in blocks with a total of 157 and 1.41 per set.

AGAINST BELLARMINE
In the first meeting with Bellarmine, UIS had an uncharacteristic match, hitting just .149 on the match in a three-set defeat. Taylor Bauer was the lone Prairie Star with double-digit kills, picking up 12 in the match.

HOW TO WATCH
All matches in the GLVC Tournament will be available to watch via live stats or on the GLVCSN.