This weekend, UIS volleyball competes at the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational. On Friday, the Prairie Stars play Minnesota State Mankato at 12:00 p.m. and Kentucky Wesleyan at 7 p.m. On Saturday, they face West Alabama at 9 a.m. and Thomas More at 3 p.m.

UIS (4-0)
UIS opened the season with a perfect 4-0 record at the Hilltopper Classic in Austin, Texas. The Prairie Stars defeated Purdue Northwest (25-20, 25-20, 25-12), Arkansas Monticello (25-17, 25-18, 25-18), Newman (25-21, 25-18, 25-18), and St. Edwards (25-16, 25-15, 26-24). Makenna Cox earned All-Tournament Team honors, and Erica Sledge was named MVP.

The Mavericks also began their 2024 campaign in perfect fashion by going 4-0 at their own tournament, the Maverick Invite. MSU took down GLVC opponents Upper Iowa (25-21, 25-18, 25-15) and Truman State (25-16, 19-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-11) before defeating Wisconsin-Parkside (25-23, 25-18, 30-28) and Northern Michigan (19-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-14, 15-6). Toryn Richards and Emma Lovall led the Maverick offense with 56 and 54 kills, respectively. Ellie Kline leads the team in digs with 79 while Brooke Bolwerk and Jadyn Lester share the passing duty. Mankato beat UIS 3-1 in 2013, which is the only time the two teams have met. 

The Panthers had a difficult start to the season at the UIndy Invitational over the weekend, losing every contest in straight sets. KWC fell to Maryville (14-25, 14-25, 17-25) and Daemen (19-25, 25-27, 13-25) on Friday before losing to Grand Valley State (15-25, 19-25, 10-25) and Indianapolis (22-25, 14-25, 15-25) on Saturday. Grace Carter leads the Panthers with 26 kills, Julia Kupper is top in assists with 64 and second on the team in digs with 21. UIS holds a 4-2 record against KWC historically, with the last meeting between the two coming in 2021 at the Midwest Regional Crossover. 

The Tigers also began their 2024 campaign slowly, only winning one set at the Cavalier Classic, hosted by Virginia Wise. West Alabama dropped matches on Thursday to Virginia Wise (13-25, 15-25, 16-25) and King (13-25, 13-25, 22-25). On Friday, the Tigers fell to Lees-McRae (15-25, 14-25, 14-25) and Bluefield State (25-20, 12-25, 17-25, 15-25). Jaida Alvin leads the Tigers in kills with 27 and is second on the team in digs with 42. Maggie Roddam leads UWA in digs with 51 while Taylor Lamontagne is the leader in assists with 41. Three Tigers have 7 or more blocks registered already this season. The two schools have met once before, as UWA beat the Prairie Stars 3-2 in 2016. 

The Saints began their season at the Hall of Fame Tournament in Canton, Ohio, where they split matches on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday the Saints faced off against Malone (25-17, 24-26, 22-25, 25-19, 10-15) and Division II newcomer, Roosevelt (26-24, 30-28, 25-21). Thomas More split again on Saturday, this time against Seton Hill (22-25, 18-25, 12-25) and Point Park (28-26, 25-12, 25-18). Leaders of the Saints are Ebony Gomez in kills with 49, Asia Ferrando in digs with 74, and Audrey Warrick in assists with 71. Three Saints have registered 10 or more blocks after the first weekend of the season. This will be the first time that the two schools have met in history.