Oct. 24, 2000

Box Score

Chicago, Ill. - The UIC volleyball team lost the battle of Chicago on Tuesday night as DePaul swept the Flames 16-14, 15-11, 15-13, in a hard fought match at the UIC Pavilion.

With the loss, UIC falls to 14-9 on the season. The Flames are now 3-7 in their last 10 matches. DePaul, which is currently ranked fifth in the Midwest Region, improved to 17-7 on the year.

"It really hurt losing that first game," UIC Head Coach Don August commented after the match. "I give credit to our team, though, we didn't give up and we came out fighting in game's two and three. I'm disappointed with the loss, but I'm encouraged about our competitiveness. We played very aggressively. We just were one play short in the first game and a couple of plays short in the next two."

UIC actually controlled the match early on as they led 14-6 in the first game, before the Blue Demons came storming back with 10 unanswered points to take came one 16-14. The two squads were then tied at 7-7 in the second frame, but DePaul pushed ahead for a 12-8 advantage and held on for a 15-11 triumph. Game three was a hard fought battle that saw the Flames claw back from 7-3 and 11-7 deficits to tighten things up at 13-12. The Blue Demons would, one again, have just enough to hold on as they prevailed 15-13.

Sophomore Lara Clarkson and freshman Teaha Shepperd led UIC as each turned in a double-double night. Clarkson, who played at DePaul last season before transferring to UIC over the summer, registered 11 kills and 15 digs while Shepperd tallied 12 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Lindsey Filkins chipped in with 11 kills and eight digs in the loss.

DePaul was paced by Orland Park, Ill., native Katie Engel. The sophomore middle hitter finished with a match-high 21 kills, nine of which came in game two, while adding 13 digs. Also putting up strong numbers, junior setter Kara Jakusz posted 51 assists and 11 digs and junior Stephanie Bishop tabbed 12 kills, 17 digs and five blocks. The serve of Mary Anne Flanigan was another key factor for DePaul as she dropped down four service aces while forcing the Flames into countless other passing errors.

August's crew will have its work cut out for it as they try to get back on track on Friday as they head to Milwaukee, Wis., to battle the streaking UW-Milwaukee Panthers in a Midwestern Collegiate Conference match at 7:00 p.m.