The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team used its defense to earn a come-from-behind win over Maryville on Saturday afternoon at TRAC. The Prairie Stars won by scores of 20-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18, and 15-7.
 
Maryville had 26 kills and hit over .200 for the first two sets. Over the final three sets though, the Saints had just 28 kills, and UIS held them to a .033 hitting percentage. The Prairie Stars offense also heated up late, as the team hit .250 or better for the final two sets.
 
In the deciding fifth set, UIS never trailed as Zanea Spencer had a kill on the first point, and the defense then forced two hitting errors by Maryville, including a block by Audrey Naberhaus. The Prairie Stars held a 7-5 lead, before then closing out the match on an 8-2 run.
 
Offensively, Angela Denney had a double-double, including a team-high 17 kills. Eirini Glynou finished with 12 kills, Zanea Spencer had nine, Macarena Flores finished with eight, and Madeline McGuire collected six. Regan Trueblood had a team-high 24 assists, and Erica Sledge had 19 assists. Sledge and Trueblood also had two service aces apiece.
 
Defensively, UIS finished with 95 digs and 12 digs. Amanda McConnell had 26 digs, and Denney finished with 22. Also in double-figures were Trueblood with 17 and Glynou with 15. Naberhaus had a team-high five blocks, one more than Flores.
 
UIS improves to 5-6 on the year and 1-1 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars will travel to McKendree next Friday for their next match.