The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team is playing its best volleyball of the season at the moment, but now must learn to win on the road. The Prairie Stars will look for their first road win since 2019 when they travel this weekend to Missouri S&T and William Jewell.
 
UIS has won four out of its last five games. The only loss came on the road on Tuesday night when the Prairie Stars took No. 13 Lewis to five sets before falling. Last weekend, UIS completed a perfect four-match homestand with a 3-1 win over Quincy and a 3-0 victory over Maryville.
 
UIS is now 6-9 overall on the season and 4-3 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars are tied for sixth in the GLVC standings.
 
In conference only matches, UIS has a .161 opponent hitting percentage, the sixth-best mark in the league. UIS is tenth offensively with a .173 hitting percentage. The Prairie Stars are tied for the conference league in GLVC matches with 2.76 blocks a set.
 
In league action, UIS has three of the top defensive players in the GLVC. Brianna Bush and Hannah Nicolaisen are both third with 1.21 blocks a set, and Amanda McConnell is third in digs with 5.55 a set.
  
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. (Missouri S&T | William Jewell) 

UIS vs. Missouri S&T
Date/Time/Location: Friday, October 8, 7:00 p.m. – Rolla, Mo.
Streaming: https://www.glvcsn.com/mst  
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/mst/wvball
All-Time Series: MST leads 12-5 (MST leads 5-1 in Rolla)
 
Missouri S&T has been one of the top teams in the GLVC this season. The Miners are currently 11-4 overall, and 5-2 in conference action.
 
One of the team's conference losses came on Tuesday night with a 3-0 setback against Missouri-St. Louis. That snapped a three-match winning streak for the program.
 
Missouri S&T has one of the top defenses in the league. It leads the conference and is eighth in NCAA Division II with 2.47 blocks a set, and it is fourth with a .162 opponent hitting percentage. Offensively, the team is fifth with nearly 13 kills a set.
 
Kiernan O'Boyle is in the top-20 nationally with 1.25 blocks a set. Payton Gannaway is second in the league with 34 service aces, and she is also second with 3.70 kills a set.
 
UIS has won three out of the last four meeting against Missouri S&T. Last season, however, the Miners won 3-0 in Springfield, Ill.
 
UIS vs. William Jewell
Date/Time/Location: Saturday, October 9, 1:00 p.m. – Liberty, Mo.
Streaming: https://www.glvcsn.com/jewell
Live Stats: https://jewellcardinals.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
All-Time Series: Series tied 6-6 (Series tied 3-3 in Liberty)
 
The William Jewell Cardinals open play this week with a 5-11 overall record. It is still looking for its first GLVC victory after seven losses to open the conference slate.
 
William Jewell is hitting .161 as a team this season, while opponents are hitting .235. The Cardinals are blocking two shots a set, while their shots have been blocked just 1.4 times a game.
 
Lily Johnson is the team leader with 136 kills, 49 blocks, and 166 points. Jordan Collard is averaging 3.59 digs a set to lead the team, and McKinzie Thompson is the top server with 12 service aces.
 
UIS has won six out of the last eight contests against William Jewell. Last season, the Cardinals won a neutral site game in St. Louis by a 3-0 margin.

Up Next
UIS will compete in the Midwest Regional Crossover on Oct. 15-16 in Hammond, Ind.