The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team will start the second half of its conference schedule this week. The Prairie Stars have just a single match on Friday against divisional rival Southern Indiana.
 
UIS finished last week's Midwest Regional Crossover event with a 2-1 record. The Prairie Stars lost to Cedarville in the opener, but bounced back with sweeps over Kentucky Wesleyan and Purdue Northwest.
 
UIS is now 8-12 on the season, including a 4-5 mark in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars are tenth in the conference standings, one game back of seventh-place Southern Indiana.
 
The Prairie Stars have been tough to beat at TRAC this season, especially in GLVC play. UIS is 4-1 at home against conference opponents, including four straight victories.
 
UIS is hitting over .200 in its last four home matches, led by setter Becca Blakeley who is averaging 10.3 assists in that span. Ryleigh Warfel leads the team in that stretch with 3.40 kills a set. Defensively, Amanda McConnell is averaging over five digs a set, and Brianna Bush and Hannah Nicolaisen have 1.27 blocking averages for those four victories at TRAC.

Each individual GLVC school will determine their own attendance policy for volleyball. Please check the policies of the home teams if interested in attending a contest. (UIS) 

UIS vs. Southern Indiana
Date/Time/Location: Friday, October 22, 7:00 p.m. – Springfield, Ill.
Streaming: https://www.glvcsn.com/uis
Live Stats: https://uisprairiestars.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
All-Time Series: USI leads 12-6 (Series tied 4-4 in Springfield)
 
Southern Indiana is currently 11-9 on the season, and 5-4 in GLVC action. The Screaming Eagles have lost five straight, including losses last week at the Crossover to Trevecca Nazarene, Ashland, and Grand Valley State.
 
Southern Indiana is ranked in the top-five in the conference with 12.79 kills a set. Defensively, it is ranked in the top-seven in both digs and blocks.
 
Leah Anderson leads the GLVC with 0.59 service aces a set. She is also the team leader with 188 kills, and is second on the squad with 207 digs. The Screaming Eagles have a balanced offensive attack, with five other players with over 100 kills on the year.
 
Southern Indiana has won four straight in the series against UIS. Last season, the Screaming Eagles won 3-0 in Evansville, and 3-1 in Springfield.

Up Next
This week's match is the first of four at TRAC. The next two are against Drury and Southwest Baptist on Oct. 29-30.