Illinois Springfield secured its second sweep of the season on Friday night, winning its home opener against McKendree 3-0, with set scores of 25-21, 25-18, 25-21 at TRAC. The Prairie Stars served 10 aces and held McKendree to a .113 hitting percentage.
After an even start to the first set, UIS moved from a 19-18 deficit to a 21-19 lead on a
Kendall Johnson kill and consecutive service aces. After McKendree closed to 21-20, the Prairie Stars answered with three straight points, including an
Alexis Schwartz-
Alyssa Gray block and a Gray kill, before taking the set 25-21 on a McKendree bad set.
Illinois Springfield broke open the second set with an 8-0 run from 14-12 to 22-12, including seven straight points with
Kendall Johnson serving. Johnson added an ace during that stretch, and Gray contributed a kill before McKendree stopped the run. UIS closed the set 25-18 on Gray's kill from
Madi Siefken.
The Prairie Stars erased a 12-9 deficit in the third set and moved in front 14-13, with
Khadijah Blue recording two kills during that response and teaming up with Gray on a block. After McKendree stayed within 19-18, UIS got kills from Johnson, Siefken and Blue before Blue's service ace closed a 25-21 set win.
Kendall Johnson led Illinois Springfield with 13 kills, five service aces and 18 points.
Madi Siefken finished with 24 assists and five digs. Gray added eight kills, seven digs, four block assists and one service ace. Libero
Emma Frazier collected 16 digs.
"It felt great to finally be back at home, and even better to start the weekend with a sweep," said head coach
Laura Ulrich. "I was really proud of the resilience this team showed throughout the week and impressed with the way they came out and competed tonight. We did a great job from the service line and played with consistency and discipline throughout the match. The energy from the crowd was tremendous, and we're incredibly grateful for the support we receive from our families, friends, and the community. We're looking forward to getting back on the court tomorrow and building on tonight's performance."
Illinois Springfield volleyball hosts Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 3 p.m. at TRAC.
