The UIS volleyball team extended its win streak to five matches with two victories on Saturday at the Hall of Fame City Challenge. The Prairie Stars swept Slippery Rock 3-0 in the morning before closing the weekend with a 3-1 win over Bluefield State, improving to 6-1 overall.

Head coach Laura Ulrich said, "This weekend at Malone was a great test for our team, and I'm really proud of how we responded. Going 4-0 on the road showed our resilience. A huge congratulations to our senior setter Erica Sledge for surpassing 2,000 career assists, which is an incredible milestone. The way the team supported each other all weekend was the biggest reason for our success. We're looking forward to one more weekend to compete before conference opens up."

Slippery Rock | W, 3-0

UIS set the tone early, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first set before The Rock managed to answer. The Prairie Stars never trailed, cruising to a 25-16 win. Set two was just as one-sided, with UIS pulling away behind a six-point stretch fueled by Slippery Rock attack errors to close it out 25-17. The third set proved the tightest of the match, with The Rock turning to balanced hitting to keep pace, but UIS broke through late to win 25-23 and complete its only sweep of the weekend.

Kendall Johnson (11 kills) and Makenna Cox (10 kills) led the attack, while Sledge ran the offense with 39 assists and also chipped in 10 digs. Tuana Yuce anchored the defense with 16 digs, and Vick had four blocks.

Bluefield State | W, 3-1

The Stars started strong in set one, leading by five multiple times, but a late run by the Big Blue flipped the script as Bluefield took it 25-23. After falling behind 2-0 in set two, UIS answered in dominant fashion, rattling off a 7-0 surge to take control and even the match with a 25-12 win. UIS carried that momentum into the third, pulling away midway through for a 25-16 victory. The fourth set was all Prairie Stars, as Bluefield's offense faltered and UIS closed the weekend with a 25-18 set.

Johnson posted a team-high 14 kills, with Cox right behind at 12. Sledge turned in a double-double of 38 assists and 11 digs, while Yuce contributed 10 digs to go with three service aces. Lexie Vick recorded four blocks.

Weekend Highlights

• Erica Sledge surpassed 2,000 career assists and averaged 9.67 per set on the weekend.
• Kendall Johnson and Makenna Cox combined for 47 kills across Saturday's matches.
• Team Serving: UIS delivered 12 aces against Bluefield State and surrendered just three across the entire weekend.

Up Next
UIS returns home for the Prairie Star Classic at TRAC, hosting Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, and Nebraska-Kearney. The homecoming match is set for Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Maryville.