Sept. 5, 2000
Box Score
Chicago, Ill. - Even after opening the season with three-straight wins and claiming the inaugural UIC Wilson Volleyball Invitational last weekend, the Flames found themselves still looking to prove they were for real. They got their chance on Tuesday night as they welcomed Fairfield - a team which had qualified for the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons and was coming off an upset win over #27 Clemson - to the UIC Pavilion.
In just over an hour, the Flames opened a lot of eyes as they swept the Stags 15-5, 15-4, 15-3, to improve to 4-0 on the season, their best start since 1993.
"It was a great win," Head Coach Don August remarked after the game. "We did our best to prepare the girls by telling them that the three wins over the weekend were nice, but this was a team that had been in the national tournament the past three years. A win like this makes people stand up and take notice."
The win was even more significant, considering the Flames were without starter Lara Clarkson, who is sidelined indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Junior Vicki Lublow stepped right in, though, picking up the slack with 13 kills,10 digs and an attack percentage of .355 (10-2-25).
UIC also received strong contributions from freshman Lindsey Filkins, who notched her second career double-double (10 kills, 10 digs) to go along with four service aces and senior Jill Greer, who, once again, posted strong all-round numbers with eight kills, eight blocks and five digs. Senior Erica Anderson posted a double-double as well, finishing the night with 31 assists and a season-high 13 digs.
It was a true team effort for the Flames, though, as they tallied 10 service aces, 11 team blocks and an attack percentage of .320 (40-8-100) en route to the three-game sweep.
Joanne Saunders led Fairfield with 11 kills and six digs.
August's crew will look to keep its winning streak alive this weekend as they travel to Hempstead, N.Y., to compete in the two-day Hofstra Invitational. The Flames kick the round-robin tournament off on Friday, Sept. 8, at 6:00 p.m., as they take on the host Pride at 6:00 p.m.
