ST. CHARLES, MO --- The Prairie Stars (5-1) opened the Lindenwood Tournament falling to Missouri Western (3-3) in straight sets but bounced back in a big way, beating West Texas A&M (4-2) in four-sets.
Alyssa Hasler had a career-match in the nightcap, tallying 12 kills against zero errors, and added five blocks.
GAME ONE: ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 0, MISSOURI WESTERN 3
The Prairie Stars opened up their first match with tough losses in both the first and second sets, dropping them 25-23 and 25-21. UIS had 14 kills in the first and 16 in the second but Missouri Western kept the Prairie Stars at bay late in each set.
In the first, UIS opened up a 6-2 lead on an ace from
Brianna Bush, closing a four point run from the Prairie Stars. Missouri Western responded with five of the next six points to tie the match at seven all before UIS scored three straight to regain the lead.
The two teams seemingly traded points before Missouri Western tied the match at 18-18 on consecutive points and took their first lead since the first point of the match, at 20-19. UIS responded with three straight points to take a 22-20 lead, forcing Missouri Western into a timeout, out of which they scored five of the next six points to take the opening set.
In the second set, a four point run from Missouri Western opened up a 13-8 lead, as they held on to at least a four point advantage until UIS rattled off three straight to push the deficit to just one at 21-20. Another late timeout from Missouri Western fueled another late rally, as they scored four of the final five points to take the second set 25-21.
UIS got down 7-0 in the third set and couldn't recover, falling 25-13 in the final set.
The Prairie Stars attacked at just a .134 clip for the match, committing 24 errors and recording 39 kills.
Alli Splitt led the way with 11 kills while
Alyssa Hasler,
Tiffany Wentworth, and Bush each added six.
Lexi Hall totaled 16 assists, adding to her UIS record while Wentworth added seven assists.
GAME TWO: ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 3, WEST TEXAS A&M 1
In the final match of the day, the Prairie Stars got back on the winning track, taking down West Texas A&M 3-1. UIS came out with an incredible opening set, winning 25-17 with 16 kills against three errors. In the second, the Prairie Stars fended off a set point before scoring three straight points to take a 2-0 lead, winning 26-24.
The third set proved to be the best volleyball of the day for both sides, as UIS tallied 14 kills against just two kills, but was bested 25-22 on a 20 kill, three error set from West Texas. However, UIS came back in the fourth with a 25-21 victory to take the match.
As stated, Hasler led the way with a 12 kill-0 error performance while
Jailyn Borum added 12 kills of her own, which is the first time the sophomore has tallied double-digit kills.
Alli Splitt and
Taylor Bauer each had 10 kills.
Lexi Hall added 33 assists --- her third highest total in her career --- while
Tiffany Wentworth added 22 assists and four kills.
Ally Vicsik totaled 31 digs at libero, setting a career best for the senior.
The Prairie Stars will conclude the tournament tomorrow with an 11:30 AM match against the host, Lindenwood, before ending with #9 Augustana (SD) at 4:30 PM.
