SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Quincy University women's volleyball team continued its hot stretch Tuesday night, taking down the University of Illinois Springfield in straight sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18, inside TRAC. The victory extended the Hawks' winning streak to four matches and improved Quincy to 16-8 overall. Despite featuring two GLVC programs, Tuesday's matchup did not count toward the conference standings, leaving Quincy at 3-5 in league play.
UIS came out quickly in the opening set, turning an early 2-2 tie into a 6-2 advantage. Quincy steadily worked its way back into the frame and eventually erased the deficit, with a
Blaike Knolhoff kill and block helping the Hawks take their first lead at 16-15. UIS briefly answered to move back ahead 17-16, but Quincy responded with five consecutive points to take control at 21-17. The Prairie Stars made one final push, but the Hawks held firm and closed out the opener 25-21.
Quincy's offense was at its best in the first set, pounding down 16 kills with only three errors for a .351 hitting percentage. UIS finished with 11 kills and hit .162.
The Hawks had to climb out of another early hole in the second after UIS scored the first six points of the frame. Quincy slowly chipped away at the deficit before putting together a 5-0 run to cut a 16-10 UIS advantage down to one at 16-15. From there, the two teams traded momentum deep into the set.
UIS held a 21-20 advantage late, but Quincy scored four of the next five points to move to set point at 24-22. The Prairie Stars stayed alive with one more point before the Hawks finished off the comeback 25-23 to take a commanding 2-0 match lead. Neither offense gained an advantage statistically in the frame, as both teams recorded 12 kills, five errors and an identical .167 hitting percentage.
The third set remained tight through a 7-7 tie before Monika Bíliková took over. The sophomore middle helped spark four consecutive Quincy points with two service aces and contributions at the net, giving the Hawks an 11-7 advantage. Quincy continued to build on the lead and eventually moved ahead 17-10.
UIS managed to cut into the deficit, but the Hawks never surrendered control. Quincy answered each Prairie Star push down the stretch and closed out the 25-18 victory to complete its second straight sweep. The Hawks totaled 12 kills in the final set while UIS finished with 10.
Quincy finished the night hitting .222 with 40 kills while holding UIS to .167 and 33 kills. The Hawks also held a 10-6 advantage in service aces and a 64-52 edge in digs. It marked the sixth time this season Quincy has reached double figures in service aces and the 11th match in which the Hawks have hit above .200 as a team. QU is now 9-2 in those matches.
The story of the night was Quincy's dominance out of the middle.
Erin Matzke and Bíliková combined for 23 kills on a .526 hitting percentage and 31.5 points. Matzke tied her career high with 15 kills while committing just two errors on 22 attempts to hit .591. The senior also surpassed both 900 career points and 700 career kills during the victory.
Bíliková produced a season-high 16 points, finishing with eight kills on .438 hitting while adding a season-high six service aces, one solo block and two block assists.
Aysem Kocaalp also reached double figures with 10 kills and added nine digs.
Milica Stamenic turned in a career night defensively, collecting a career-high 21 digs, while Knolhoff appeared in all three sets for the first time in her collegiate career and finished with 12 digs and a service ace.
Macey Rocco directed the offense with 31 assists while adding nine digs, and
Angel Salcedo chipped in five digs and two service aces.
The Hawks will see a familiar opponent in their next match, welcoming Illinois Springfield to Pepsi Arena on Saturday, October 24th at 3:00 PM. Unlike Tuesday's meeting, Saturday's matchup will count toward the GLVC standings. Quincy will also partner with NAMI for a Green Out in support of mental health awareness.
