The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team went 2-0 on Saturday in Findlay, Ohio. The Prairie Stars defeated Hillsdale, the No. 14 team in the country, before a five-set comeback win over Tiffin.
UIS defeated Hillsdale by scores of 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, and 25-23. After Hillsdale hit .244 in the first set, the Prairie Stars stepped up their defense, and held the Chargers to a .051 mark for the final three sets.
The Prairie Stars recorded 94 digs in the match.
Jailyn Borum led the team with 27, and
Rachel Cobert had 22.
Jenny Rush,
Becca Blakeley, and
Alli Splitt all had double-figure dig totals.
Offensively,
Brianna Bush had 13 kills, followed by
Hannah Nicolaisen and Splitt with 11 apiece. Blakeley recorded 42 assists.
In the night match, Tiffin won the first two sets before UIS came back for a 22-25, 17-25, 25-16, 29-27, and 20-18 win. Defense turned the tide again, with the Prairie Stars holding Tiffin to just 24 kills over the final three sets.
UIS finished with 73 kills and a .028 hitting percentage. Nicolaisen had 21 kills and finished with a .306 hitting percentage. Splitt had 16 kills, Bush put down 14 balls, and
Megan Krasowski had 11 kills. Blakeley had 51 assists in the match.
Defensively, UIS surpassed 90 digs again with 99. Rush led the team with 26. Borum, Krasowski, Blakeley, and Cobert all had double-figures as well. Bush had a team-high six blocks.
UIS is now 7-4 on the season. The Prairie Stars end their weekend on Sunday with a morning match against Findlay in Tiffin, Ohio.
