CHICAGO – UIC kept its winning streak alive with a 3-2 (25-23, 25-17, 15-25, 16-25, 15-12) victory over host DePaul Saturday evening to close out the DePaul Invitational. The win was the Flames' ninth-straight en route to their third tournament title to start the 2016 season. UIC's perfect 9-0 record is the program's best start in Division I history.

Senior Alyssa Ehrhardt was named the tournament's most valuable player, registering 53 kills to average 3.79 kills per set. The Algonquin, Ill., native also collected 22 digs and seven service aces on the weekend. Sophomore Ali Witt joined Ehrhardt on the All-Tournament team, hitting at a clip of .487 in three matches and committing only two errors across 14 sets.

Kelsie Groot recorded a match-high 16 kills in Saturday's nightcap, and closed out the Invitational with 46 kills and 26 digs. Senior Kara Johnson brought in a team-high 42 digs on the weekend, while redshirt-junior Nicole Johnson provided 146 helpers for the Flames.

"It was a great atmosphere all weekend long at DePaul, and I thought we really rose to the challenge," said UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. "I'm very proud of this team and the way they continually stick together and fight for each other, and for every point, in every match.

 "We had great support from family and friends this weekend," said Schumacher-Cawley. "Even though it wasn't a home tournament, it was great to be able to play in our city this weekend. The crowds were great and the [UIC] women's basketball team even made the trip to cheer us on tonight. We're so grateful for all the people who support us every step of the way."

UIC 3, DePaul 2
The nightcap's first frame was a tight race, with 12 tie scores before UIC was able to pull away with the win. With the score tied at 22, a combo block by Casey Harris and Groot put the Flames up 23-22. DePaul used a timeout before returning with a kill to even the score at 23, but a pair of kills from Harris and Gaia Gbola allowed UIC to mark the first set as a win.

The Flames broke free from an 11-11 tie in the second set to score seven of the next eight points. UIC eventually led by ten, 23-13, before the Blue Demons fought back to score their last four points. A DePaul attack error and an Ehrhardt allowed the Flames to put the second set to bed, 25-17.

UIC faltered in the third set, trailing 18-14 before DePaul poured in six unanswered points to bring the frame to game point. The Blue Demons committed an attack error before securing the 25-15 win to cut UIC's lead in half.
Down 18-14 once again in the fourth set, DePaul went on another streak to build a 22-14 cushion. A block by Harris and Macy Geyer, and a Blue Demon attack error, gave UIC their final two points before DePaul took the 25-16 victory to force the decisive frame.

With the score of the final frame set at 12-9, The Flames capitalized on two DePaul errors to go up 14-9. The Blue Demons registered a brief three-point run on a kill and two UIC errors before an error of their own gave the Flames the 3-2 match victory.

UIC 3, South Florida 2
Despite being in a 12-5 hole to start out the first frame, The Flames fought back to a 19-19 tie to begin their surge. Three-straight kills from Johnson, Groot and Ehrhardt gave the Flames the lead, but South Florida quickly retaliated to bring the score to another tie, 23-23. Both teams traded off one-point leads before UIC was able to pull away, 27-25, on an attack by Groot, and then a USF attack error.

The Flames secured a comfortable 21-13 lead in the second set before the Bulls scored four unanswered points on three kills and a service ace. A kill by Harris gave UIC its 22nd point, but USF came back with another two to make the score 22-19. A service ace and a South Florida attack error brought UIC one point away from another win, but the Bulls pushed back with another three-straight points to come within two. With the score set at 24-22, Witt attacked and gave the Flames the final point to secure a 2-0 lead.

The third set was closely matched, with eight tie scores and five lead changes. With the scored tied at 20 all, a UIC error gave the Bulls a one-point lead. Ehrhardt retaliated and tied the score once again, and a block by Witt allowed the flames to gain the advantage. A kill by USF's Priscilla Ehieze evened the score, but Groot took a feed from Johnson to give the UIC the lead once more. Ehieze evened the score with another kill before a pair of Flames errors gave USF the win to set the match at 2-1.

UIC found itself facing a 23-16 deficit late in the fourth set, as Witt registered a termination to bring the score to 23-17, but that was the last point the Flames would register, as a kill by South Florida's Dakota Hampton and a UIC error tied the match at two sets apiece.

The Flames led from the 1-1 mark on to begin the fifth and final set, and led by as many as four, before the Bulls recorded three-straight points to come within one. A pair of kills by Ehrhardt and a USF attack error gave UIC three points of their own to bring the score to 8-12 before a block and a kill from the Bulls brought USF within two. Ehrhardt brought in another two points, as Kyisha Hunt collected the final kill to give the Flames the 15-10 set win and a 3-2 victory overall.

UIC will have one more match away from home, a tussle at Loyola on Tuesday, Sept. 13, before playing at the Flames Athletic Center for this first time all season during the UIC Invitational (Sept. 16-17).