The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team ends its regular season this weekend. The Prairie Stars travel to Indianapolis on Friday night, followed by a Saturday afternoon game at McKendree.
 
UIS must win both contests this weekend in order to extend its season with a bid to the GLVC Tournament. The Prairie Stars are currently ninth in league play with an 8-8 record. Overall, the team is 12-15, a major step forward after going just 3-16 a season ago.
 
The Prairie Stars kept their playoff hopes alive by going 2-1 over the last week. UIS had an impressive weekend road trip, defeating Lindenwood and Truman State. It lost its weekday contest this week though to Southern Indiana.
 
UIS looks to get its offense going this weekend. The Prairie Stars have hit .225 or better in six out of their last nine games, but haven't hit that mark in the last two contests. UIS is 7-1 this season when it hits over .200 for a match.
 
Hannah Nicolaisen has had double-figure kills in five out of her last six matches. She is hitting .400 in that span, and averaging 2.76 kills per set. In that six-game span, Becca Blakeley is averaging 11.05 assists per set, and the team has a .239 hitting percentage. 

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. (Indianapolis | McKendree)

UIS vs. Indianapolis
Date/Time/Location: Friday, November 12, 7:00 p.m. (eastern) – Indianapolis, Ind.
Streaming: https://www.glvcsn.com/uindy
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/uindy/wvball/
All-Time Series: Indianapolis leads 11-2 (Indianapolis leads 5-1 in Indianapolis)
 
Indianapolis ends its regular season on Friday against UIS. With a win, it would clinch a GLVC Tournament spot, while a loss would give UIS a chance to catch the Greyhounds later in the weekend. Indianapolis is 14-15 on the year, and 10-7 in conference action.
 
Indianapolis has a similar statistics resume as the Prairie Stars, with a .184 hitting percentage and .204 opponent hitting percentage. One area that the Greyhounds have an edge in is digs where they are third in the GLVC with nearly 18 a set.
 
Makenna Barnhart leads the digs effort with 4.57 a set, which ranks fourth in the league. Others among GLVC leaders include Alex Equihua who is fourth in assists with 10.0 a set, and Grace Hegwood who is seventh with 3.14 kills a set.
 
Indianapolis leads the all-time series by an 11-2 record. Earlier this season though, UIS defeated the Greyhounds by a 3-1 score in Springfield, Ill. Ryleigh Warfel had a big match for the Prairie Stars with 18 kills, and Brianna Bush had 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. UIS had 90 digs in the match, including 26 from Amanda McConnell.

UIS vs. McKendree
Date/Time/Location: Saturday, November 13, 3:00 p.m. – Lebanon, Ill.
Streaming: https://www.glvcsn.com/mckendree/
Live Stats: https://mckbearcats.com/sidearmstats/wvball/media
All-Time Series: McKendree leads 13-10 (McKendree leads 6-4 in Lebanon)
 
McKendree enters play this weekend with an 8-18 overall record, and it is 4-11 in GLVC play. The Bearcats have lost three straight, including a 3-1 loss to Indianapolis on Tuesday night.
 
McKendree is another team that is strong defensively, including ranking fifth in the GLVC with 16.4 digs a set. Offensively, the Bearcats are hitting .142 on the season.
 
Brianna Binder ranks in the top-10 in the GLVC with 2.90 kills a set. Other players in the top-10 include Macy Tongate with 9.05 assists a set, and Colleen Preusser with 0.32 aces a set.
 
UIS has won five out of the last six meetings between the two schools. Earlier this year, the Prairie Stars won 3-1 in TRAC. Ryleigh Warfel and Angela Denney combined for 29 kills. Amanda McConnell had 19 digs, and Hannah Nicolaisen blocked six hitting attempts.
 
Up Next
The GLVC Tournament will take place on Nov. 19-21 in East Peoria, Ill.