The UIS volleyball team split its two matches Saturday at the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational, falling to Arkansas-Fort Smith 3-1 before defeating Kentucky Wesleyan 3-1. The Prairie Stars went 2-1 at the tournament and move to 2-5 overall.
In the match against Arkansas-Fort Smith, UIS fell 14-25, 25-21, 13-25 and 18-25. The Prairie Stars finished with 52 kills but hit .109 after committing 33 attack errors, while UAFS hit .291.
Makenna Cox led UIS with 22 kills and 23.5 points, adding 16 digs.
Emma Frazier paced the defense with 22 digs and three assists.
Madi Siefken recorded 28 assists, eight digs, one ace and one block assist, while
Kendall Johnson added 12 kills and five digs.
The Prairie Stars bounced back against Kentucky Wesleyan, earning a 19-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-17 victory. UIS hit .232 with 48 kills and held KWC to a .095 hitting percentage.
After building an 11-6 lead in the opening set, UIS fell behind as Kentucky Wesleyan rallied to win 25-19. The Prairie Stars responded in the second set, with Johnson helping UIS turn a 21-20 deficit into a 25-22 win.
Kentucky Wesleyan held an 8-6 lead early in the third set before UIS used four straight points on
Tuana Yuce's serve to take an 10-8 advantage. The run included a Cox kill and a service ace. The Prairie Stars maintained control, with
Khadijah Blue recording the final two points in the 25-15 win.
UIS took control of the fourth set with a mid-set surge, turning a 9-8 lead into a 16-9 advantage. Siefken assisted on multiple kills and added a service ace during the stretch. Cox closed out the 25-17 win with a kill off a Siefken assist.
Cox led UIS against Kentucky Wesleyan with 18 kills, 16 digs and 18 points. Siefken finished with 45 assists, 13 digs and five total blocks.
Maddie Mendelblatt added 10 kills while hitting .348, along with two service aces and four blocks.
Up next, the Prairie Stars travel to St. Joseph, Mo., to face Central Missouri on Friday, Sept. 11, as part of Missouri Western's Holiday Inn Express Griffon Volleyball Invitational.
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