Playing at home usually brings added pressure, but for the University of Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars volleyball team, taking the court at The Recreation and Athletic Center was a relief Tuesday.
After a month-long road trip that included 13 away matches, UIS finally played at home. The Stars beat the Benedictine University at Springfield Bulldogs 25-15, 25-13, 25-22 in front of 210 spectators.
“The returning players said this is the most fans they’ve ever seen in the stands,” UIS junior outside hitter Sam Krilich said. “We asked them, ‘Is this the most fans you’ve ever seen?’ and they said, ‘Definitely.’’’
An 11-kill effort from Krilich lifted the Stars. It wasn’t pretty at times, but UIS (4-10) managed to hold off the Bulldogs’ rally in the final game and beat Benedictine (3-13) comfortably.
UIS coach Angie Riggle would like to see her squad play a lot cleaner.
“We did a good job of moving the ball around, but mentally we were out of it,” she said. “A lot of our errors were mental mistakes that were unforced errors.
The volleyball win was featured in a September 29, 2010, article in The State Journal-Register.
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