The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team fell just a few points shy of one of its biggest victories in program history on Tuesday night in Romeoville, Ill. The Prairie Stars took No. 13 Lewis to the wire before falling 18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-12, and 15-12.
 
UIS jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the match. In the first set, the Prairie Stars held Lewis to a .000 hitting percentage and led by as many as nine points. Lewis scored the final four points to break a 21-21 tie in the second set. In the third, the score was tied at 22, before the Prairie Stars scored three straight. That set was the best offensively for UIS, as it hit .256.
 
Lewis regained momentum though with a big fourth set victory. In the fifth set, Lewis held a narrow lead at 11-10, when it went on a 3-1 run to set up match point. UIS killed off the first match point, but couldn't do a second time.
 
Lewis finished with a statistical advantage in most categories over UIS, mostly due to the fourth set. Lewis finished with nine more kills and six extra blocks, which proved to be the difference.
 
UIS had six players with five or more kills in the match, including three in double-figures. Angela Denney led the team with 15, followed by Ryleigh Warfel with 11 and Megan Krasowski with 10. Other team leaders were Becca Blakeley with 46 assists, Amanda McConnell with 26 digs, and Hannah Nicolaisen with six blocks. Denney, Krasowski, and Blakeley all had double-doubles after finished with 10 or more digs, and Haley Allen also collected 12 digs.
 
UIS falls to 6-9 on the season and 4-3 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars are on the road this weekend at Missouri S&T and William Jewell.