GAME DAY LINKS --LIVE STATS (Illinois Springfield)
LIVE VIDEO (Illinois Springfield)(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 30)--The McKendree University volleyball team will look to close out the first month of the 2014 season on a high note when it makes the short trip north on Tuesday to take on the University of Illinois Springfield in a key Great Lakes Valley Conference match. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at The Recreation and Athletic Complex on the UIS campus.
The Bearcats snapped a four-match losing streak on Saturday afternoon by posting a four-set win over the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The win pushed McKendree back to the .500 mark for both its overall and GLVC records. The Bearcats enter the UIS match with a 6-6 record on the year and a 3-3 mark in the GLVC East Division. McKendree is currently in a three-way tie for third place in the division with Wisconsin-Parkside and the University of Southern Indiana.
Senior outside/right-side hitter
Kelsey Johnson (Aviston, IL/Breese Central) had her most prolific week in a McKendree University, reaching double figures in kills during each match of last weekend's play against Lewis University and Wisconsin-Parkside. Johnson established a career-high with 11 kills in a three-set loss to Lewis before bouncing back with another 11-attack effort in the win over the Rangers. Freshman outside hitter
Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) put down a match-high 16 kills to pace McKendree in the UWP win, and joined Johnson as one of four players who posted double-doubles in the contest. Johnson and Williams added 11 and 10 digs, respectively, in the effort. Senior setter
Abby Hanger (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) handed out 23 assists and chipped in with 10 digs, while sophomore setter
Breanna Howe (Mt. Pulaski, IL/Mt. Pulaski) notched 19 assists and 10 digs against the Rangers. Freshman libero
Ashly Schmitt (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) handled 16 digs in the back row to pace the Bearcats.
Hanger needs 35 assists entering Tuesday's match at UIS to become one of just a handful of players in McKendree program history with 1,500 career assists. She dished out 1,244 assists during her junior year of 2012 before sitting out last year as a medical redshirt.
ABOUT ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD --The Prairie Stars bring a 3-7 overall record and 1-5 GLVC East Division mark into Tuesday's battle against McKendree. The lone GLVC win for Illinois Springfield to this point is a four-match triumph over Quincy University on Sept. 20. Ashley Beaton leads a balanced offensive attack for the Prairie Stars with 88 kills while Shelby Geers is close behing at 80 attacks. Beaton has also served up a team-leading nine aces this season. At the net, Nikki Madoch has collected 30 blocks for UIS while Geers is next with 25. Lexi Hall leads the team with 181 assists and JoAnna Hoffman has added 153 through 10 matches. In the back row, Kayla Katarzynski has handled a team-best 178 digs for the Prairie Stars.
McKendree swept the regular-season series in 2013 with Illinois Springfield. The Bearcats outlasted the Prairie Stars in five sets on Oct. 8 in Springfield, Ill., before claiming a four-set decision to close out the sweep of UIS on Nov. 12 at the Statham Center.
Tuesday's match at UIS is the first of a three-game road swing for the Bearcats. McKendree will travel east this coming weekend to face off against the University of Indianapolis on Friday night and Saint Joseph's College in a Saturday afternoon tussle. The Bearcats will not play at home again until Oct. 8, when Missouri Baptist University comes to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center for a non-conference battle.
