The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team lost a pair of matches on day one of the Hampton Inn Invitational in Kenosha, Wis. The Prairie Stars fell to the host school, Parkside, and to Minnesota Crookston.
 
UIS fell to Parkside by scores of 25-23, 25-9, and 25-18. The Prairie Stars struggled offensively with just as many kills as errors, in large part to the Rangers having 14 blocks.
 
Angela Denney led the offense with nine kills, followed by Macarena Flores with six kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Regan Trueblood had 16 assists. Amanda McConnell led the team with 12 digs, and Flores had two blocks. Ericka Snopko and Zanea Spencer each had two service aces.
 
In match two, the Prairie Stars struggled pulling out close matches, falling 26-24, 25-16, 17-25, and 25-23. Both teams hit under .150 for the match, but Minnesota Crookston had 10 more digs and three more blocks on the defensive side.
 
Denney had a team-high 15 kills and she hit .333 in the match. Spencer and Eirini Glynou each had seven kills. Trueblood finished with 21 assists, and Erica Sledge had 11. McConnell had 16 digs, and Glynou was also in double figures. Flores led the blocking four, and Glynou had three service aces.
 
UIS falls to 3-3 on the season. The Prairie Stars continue play at the tournament on Saturday.