Volleyball has success, failures during home stretch

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

A young team continues to learn not only how to play together, but to win as well. The UIS women's volleyball team experienced some highs and lows last week recording one win and two losses during their home stretch of the team's first American Midwest Conference matches.

With the team still reeling from the loss of senior outside hitter Danielle Crossen, the Prairie Stars looked to reverse their recent fortunes and had to start with the Cougars of Columbia. Columbia , which had just come off a three-game defeat to conference foe Missouri Baptist, was looking to punish the first team that got in their way.

While the Stars had some moments of fine play, the Cougar attack was too much for them last Tuesday night and they ended up losing in three games by the scores of 30-16, 3017 and 30-18. For the Stars, junior middle hitter Audra Roach had seven kills and one ace. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Sanders, Danielle Simler, and senior middle hitter Maria Ray all had four kills as well. Senior setter Megan Leonard had 18 assists.

The Stars went on to host Harris Stowe on Friday, a team that has usually been at the bottom of the conference standings. This was just the medicine that the ailing Stars needed as they swept Harris Stowe out of the UIS Gymnasium by the scores of 30-13, 30-18 and 30-14. Sanders led the Prairie Star attack with a match-high 13 kills and added eight aces. Simler had eight kills and Roach added four kills. Excluding setter Megan Leonard, every player on the team recorded a kill in this match.

The Stars then played a Saturday afternoon contest against the Spartans of Missouri Baptist, who were 11 th -ranked in the NAIA polls before the match. The Spartans were everything that was advertised about them and dominated the contest in three games by the scores of 30-11, 30-16 and 30-21. The Stars struggled with their serve receive and weren't able to create many offensive opportunities because of it. Sanders led the team with seven kills and Roach chipped in with six kills.

After last week's play, the team stands at 4-10 on the year with a 1-2 record in the AMC. The Stars' next contest will be this Saturday at William Woods University . That game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

A good taste of Chicago

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

Brace yourself, people: there just might be hope in Chi-Town. By some way or somehow, there will be at least one professional sports team in postseason action in the up coming months. If you don't believe me right now, let me do some convincing for you to show just how this phenomenon will take place.

Let us start with the team that probably half the people in this country couldn't name more than two players on the roster, the Chicago White Sox. For so long this season, the Sox have played “Ozzie Ball” and had winning baseball games down to a science. With a simple formula of great starting pitching, base stealing, sacrifice flies and letting first baseman Paul Konerko swing for the fences each and ever time out, the AL Central looked like it was all locked up in JUNE! Leading by double digit games over teams like Minnesota , who is the defending division champion, and Cleveland , most South Siders were already popping the tops off of many tall, cool Miller Lites.

But, as quickly and as shockingly as the Sox were dominating, they have begun to falter. At press time, the Sox have only a three-and-a-half-game lead over the white-hot Indians of Cleveland with two series left to play against each other. The Sox lost a crucial road series to the pathetic Kansas City Royals last week and had to scratch and claw their way to a series victory over Minnesota during the weekend. The Indians continued their march and swept the Royals over the weekend.

Any fan of a Chicago sports team has probably got that oh-so-horrible yet familiar feeling in their stomach. It is that sinking sensation that it is all happening again. Only a Chicago team could blow this lead and this season.

I say to these people: keep the faith. This team is different. The Sox have at least one thing in their favor as they come down the stretch: the schedule. They get to play the Indians, a team that they have dominated this year with a record of 10-3 against them. Yes, the level of play has been down and the pitching has been suspect, especially with staff ace Mark Buehrle. But guys like pitcher Jose Contreras and utility player Juan Uribe have been playing well and will help this team down the stretch.

Another thing to look at is the standings. The Sox led the division and are the first team to 90 wins in the American League. As it stands, they would be the top seed in the playoffs and if the other teams in contention are battling like they are, this will most likely be the case.

Even if you aren't convinced and want to flush the White Sox down the toilet, there is another team that made its mark last Sunday afternoon, The Chicago Bears. The storied franchise went out in their home opener against division rival and first place Detroit Lions and demolished them. The game was never in doubt and the Bears scored every way possible. The offense did what it needed to do by running the ball effectively, receiving great blocking from the offensive line, converting multiple short third down plays, and letting rookie starting quarterback Kyle Orton manage an offense that didn't need him to make very many individual efforts on plays.

Then, there was the defense. I made a claim to several people that I thought that this was the best defense in the league. Well, they certainly made me look good Sunday by intercepting Lions embattled quarterback Joey Harrington five times and scoring a touchdown as well. They also delivered mind-blowing hits and provided pressure up the middle with their stellar defensive line.

If this is the team that shows up every Sunday this season, we are looking at the NFC North champions. With Green Bay and Minnesota off to bad starts in all facets of the game, the Bears made some noise by pummeling the Lions and leaving them to lick their own wounds.

Will they, the Sox and the Bears, be able to propel themselves to the playoffs? Only time will tell. It is still extremely early for football, some important games left in baseball, and I must admit, I have a bias in this whole thing. But, judge for yourself in the upcoming weeks with both teams and get your taste of Chicago sports. Take care and thanks for reading.

Soccer strong during three-game home stand

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

It may have taken a few games, but the UIS men's soccer team is putting the pieces in place to compete with the top programs in the country this season. This past week saw the Stars playing and defeating crosstown rival Robert Morris College , refusing to back down to Lindsey Wilson, the top program in the NAIA and pulling out an overtime victory against Iowa Wesleyan.

The Stars headed into last week's play with very little to be happy about. The team was struggling offensively and had yet to win a single game. The schedule became their best friend as they hosted a Wednesday night match-up against Robert Morris College . The two teams particularly don't care for each other and this was made evident with the very physical play from start to finish. However, the Stars made a statement in this game by defeating their city rivals 7-0. Seniors Michael Hutchinson and Korey Baker both scored three goals apiece and Jose Burgos added a goal as well.

After that dominating performance, the team had a couple of days to prepare for the top team in the NAIA polls, Lindsey Wilson. Students, faculty and local community members all came out to cheer on the underdog Stars, but the team was defeated 2-0. With only two shots on goal, the team missed several opportunities to attempt more shots. Despite that, the team showed how tough they can be by holding a team with a plethora of talent to only two goals and not backing down to the hype.

If that wasn't a good indication of how tough this team is, then the very next day certainly was. The Stars hosted Iowa Wesleyan for a Sunday afternoon game. With tired legs and competing without two captains in Andres Barcenas and Zach Jones, the Stars pulled out an exciting 3-2 victory in overtime.

Drew Rynders scored an early goal with an assist from Hutchinson to help the team get off on the right foot. The Tigers of Iowa Wesleyan answered by scoring a goal in the first half and one shortly after the 60 minute mark to take a 2-1 lead. But, a late goal by senior Todd Pierce, who notched his first goal of the season, sent the game into overtime and shifted the momentum to the exhausted Prairie Stars.

The momentum carried over and made an immediate impact when Burgos punched in a goal after 26 seconds of play and propelled the Stars to victory.

With a week of tough games under their belts, the team will take this entire week off and return to action against Columbia College in Columbia , Mo. next Tuesday.

Campus Recreational Sports Briefs

Intramural 6x6 Sand Volleyball League Results

The sand volleyball teams saw a lot of action this past weekend as the teams played Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Friday, the first match up was Ocean's Twelve against Huge Volleyballs, Huge. The match went to three games with Huge Volleyballs, Huge taking the victory 25-30, 30-28, and 15-11. Following the first battle, New Booties came up against The Dirty Dozen, in which The Dirty Dozen took the easy win, 30-16 and 30-18. Taking the final victory of the night was Los Gangstars, who beat the Sultans in two games, 30-24 and 30-24. Saturday started off with a close victory for The Dirty Dozen. In the first game Huge Volleyballs, Huge battled back from a deficit to win 30-29. The Dirty Dozen took the second game 30-24 and managed to slip by and win the third game 15-14. Following the nail biting first match, the Smokers and Sultans took a double forfeit in the first game, but the Sultans managed to get a team together for the second and third games to take the match forfeit win. The third and final match up of the day was Los Gangstars versus Ocean's Twelve. Ocean's Twelve was able to keep the match to two games ending victorious with a score of 30-27 and 30-29. On Sunday, the first scheduled match between the Smokers and the New Booties was very uneventful due to a match forfeit by the New Booties. In the second match, sand was flying everywhere as the winning Ocean's Twelve took The Dirty Dozen to three games, 29-30, 30-26, and 15-14. To finish the night off, Huge Volleyballs, Huge beat Los Gangstars under the lights 30-21, 29-30, and 15-12. League standings see Huge Volleyball, Huge leading 4-1; Ocean's Twelve and The Dirty Dozen tied at 3-1; Sultans, 2-2; Los Gangstars, 2-3; Smokers, 1-3; and New Booties, 0-4.

Intramural 9x9 Softball League Results

This past weekend Intramural Softball saw two great matchups. The first of which was between The BAMF's and Her Majesty's Royal Squadron of MMV. The game came down to the final out with Her Majesty's Royal Squadron edging out The BAMF's 10-9. The second game of the weekend was between Team Wilson and No Softballs Here. No Softballs Here seemed to have too much fire power as they cruised to an easy 22-3 victory over Team Wilson. These games were the final regular season games, meaning tournament play begins Saturday, September 24. Her Majesty's Royal Squadron of MMV drew the first seed by finishing with a record of 3-0. The BAMF's, Team Wilson, and No Softballs Here all tied with a record of 1-2. After the tie breakers were examined the second seed went to No Softballs Here. The third seed went to The BAMF's, and the final seed went to Team Wilson. Games for the first round of the tournament will be take place at 2:30 and 3:30 on Saturday with The BAMF's playing No Softballs Here in the first game, and Her Majesty's Royal Squadron playing Team Wilson in game two. The winners of each game will meet Sunday at 1:30 to decide the Intramural Softball Championship. 

How Can I Learn About Campus Rec Sports Activities and Events?

Contact the Campus Recreational Sports Office located in the Fitness Center (SLB 118) at 206-6658; send an e-mail to RecSports@uis.edu ; or c heck out our website at www.uis.edu/recsports/ .

Volleyball has success, failures during home stretch

A good taste of Chicago

Soccer strong during three-game home stand

Campus Rec Sports Briefs