SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The McKendree University women's volleyball team dropped a hard-fought, highly contested four set match here Saturday afternoon to the University of Illinois-Springfield (25-19, 26-28, 23-25, 21-25) in Great Lakes Valley Conference action at the TRAC on the UIS campus.

With the setback, McKendree drops its record to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in the GLVC, while UIS improves to 4-8 overall and 2-2 in the league.

Unlike its match last night at 14th-ranked Lewis University when no Bearcat player recorded double-digit kills, in Saturday's match, three Bearcats had double figure kills led by sophomore outside/opposite side hitter Colleen Preusser (St. Charles, Mo./Lutheran), who finished with 12 kills and added 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.

In addition to Preusser, sophomore outside hitter Brianna Binder (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge) and senior middle blocker Hope Gramly (Prosper, Texas/Prosper) each had 10 kills and combined for 30 digs as Binder had a season-high 23 digs for her fourth double-double of the year and Gramly added seven digs in the loss.

The Bearcats offense hit .161 for the match, including hitting .314 in winning the first set, 25-19. Junior middle blocker/opposite side hitter Claire Diercks (Highland, Ill./Highland) hit .429 as she had seven kills and one error on 14 attack attempts.

Junior setter Macy Tongate (Towanda, Ill./Normal University) picked up her team-leading fifth double-double as she had 44 assists and 11 digs.

One of the strengths in the match for the Bearcats was it serving as they recorded eight aces, including three from Gramly and two from junior outside hitter Maddie Misner (Makenda, Ill./Carbondale). UIS had just three aces in the match.

McKendree's defense outdug UIS, 81-75, but the Prairie Stars held a 9-8 edge in blocks for the match. Gramly had five blocks on the match, while Pruesser added four blocks.
UIS finished the match hitting .163 as they recorded 53 kills, including a match-high 15 kills from Ryleigh Warfel. Angela Denney added 14 kills and hit .222 and Megan Krasowski recorded eight kills in the win.

Becca Blakeley had 37 assists and 11 digs, while Amanda McConnell posted a team-high 19 digs and Hannah Nicolaisen had six blocks.

The Bearcats conclude its four-match road swing to open GLVC play on Tuesday, Sept. 28 as they travel to Evansville, Ind., for a 7 p.m. match against the University of Southern Indiana.

Set 1
McKendree hit .314 and had 12 kills, while holding UIS to an .048 attack percentage in earning a 25-19 win. Five Bearcats had two or more kills in the set, including three from Preusser, who also had eight digs in the set. Five Bearcats also hit over .275 in the set.

McKendree jumped out to an early lead in the first set and used an 11-7 run to take a 16-12 lead following an assisted block by Tongate and Diercks. The lead would eventually grow to 23-16 before UIS scored three of the next four points to pull within 24-19. Gramly, though, would seal McKendree's set win with a kill.

Set  2
The Bearcats held and early 4-1 lead in the second set and led 12-9 when UIS used a 6-0 run to push in front 15-12. McKendree, though, would respond with a 9-4 run to push out to a 21-19 lead. The teams would then trade points before UIS used a 5-3 run to tie the set at 25. A kill from Nicolaisen gave UIS a 26-25 lead, before a kill from Preusser tied the set at 26. The Prairie Stars, though, would score the final two points, including capping the 28-26 set win with an ace from Haley Allen.

In the set, McKendree hit .089 and UIS hit .133. Preusser and Tongate each had four kills in the set and Binder tallied seven digs. Warfel had four kills and McConnell had eight digs in the set.

Set 3
UIS jumped in front 14-10 in the third set, before the Bearcats used a 6-0 run that began with a kill by Preusser and back-to-back kills from Gramly to take a 16-14 lead. The lead was shortlived as UIS used a 7-1 run to take a 21-17. The Bearcats answered with a 6-3 run to pull within 24-23, before UIS earned the 25-23 win with a kill from Denney.

The Bearcats hit .106 and had 12 kills in the set, including five from Gramly, while UIS hit .199 and had 15 kills, including six from Denney.

Set 4
Much like the first three sets, the fourth set was another back-and-forth affair as it featured 12 ties and two lead changes. UIS jumped in front 8-5 and led 11-8 when McKendree responded with an 8-4 run to take a 16-15 lead. The home team would answer with 5-1 run to take a 20-17 and after a kill by Gramly made it 20-18 in favor of McKendree, UIS would use a 4-2 run to take a 24-20 lead. A kill by Binder stopped the run, but the Prairie Stars capped the 25-21 win with a service error by Tongate.

McKendree hit .171 with 15 kills in the fourth set as four Bearcats had three kills each in the set. UIS hit .289 with 13 kills and had three blocks in the set.