The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team will compete in its third straight GLVC Tournament this week in East Peoria, Ill. The Prairie Stars, who are seeded seventh, will face Lewis, the two seed, on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill.
 
UIS has reached the GLVC Semifinals in its first two appearances at the conference tournament. In both events, the Prairie Stars defeated Bellarmine in the first round. In 2017, UIS lost to Lewis in the semifinals, and last year, it fell in five sets at Drury.
 
UIS (19-13, 8-7)
UIS clinched a spot in the GLVC Tournament last weekend after going 1-1 in its final regular season games. The Prairie Stars earned a 3-0 sweep over William Jewell on Friday at TRAC, before falling to nationally-ranked Rockhurst by a 3-0 margin on Saturday.
 
UIS enters the tournament ranked sixth in the GLVC with a .211 hitting percentage, and it is fourth by holding opponents to a .155 hitting mark. UIS is the conference leader with 2.51 blocks a set.
 
Alli Splitt leads the team with 405.5 points on the year, and averages 3.69 points a game. She has led the team in kills and points in 12 matches, and has double-figure points in 25 contests. Jailyn Borum and Brianna Bush are the team's defensive leaders. Borum ranks fourth in the GLVC with a 4.72 dig average, and Bush is second in the conference with 1.29 blocks per set.

About Lewis (26-4, 12-3)
Lewis enters the postseason on a five-game winning streak, and 10 wins in the last 11 contests. Among the wins last week was a 3-2 victory over the GLVC Regular Season Champion, Rockhurst. The Flyers are ranked 13th in NCAA Division II, and they are the top-ranked team in the region.
 
Lewis ranks fourth in the conference with a .238 hitting percentage, and is first with a .122 hitting percentage. The Flyers are second in the conference with 2.25 blocks a set, and the GLVC leader with 18.41 digs a set.
 
Four players for Lewis average over two kills a set, led by Colleen Wilhelm with a 3.09 average. Wilhelm and Ava Venema are both hitting over .300. Jamie Poppen leads the team with 4.36 digs a set, and Venema has a team-best 1.16 blocking average.
 
UIS vs. Lewis Series History
UIS is searching for its first win over Lewis in the program's history. Lewis is 13-0 against the Prairie Stars, including a 3-1 win in the regular season.
 
Earlier This Season
UIS lost to Lewis in the regular season by scores of 18-25, 25-19, 25-21, and 25-19. The Prairie Stars hit .128 in the match, compared to a .264 mark for Lewis. UIS leaders were Hannah Nicolaisen with 13 kills, Becca Blakeley with 30 assists, Rachel Cobert with three service aces, Jailyn Borum with 25 digs, and Alli Splitt with five blocks.
 
Up Next
The winner of the UIS/Lewis game will take on the winner of the Missouri-St. Louis/Bellarmine contest in the GLVC Semifinals. That match will be on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.