Nov. 15, 2004
UIC Volleyball Weekly Release in PDF Format
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Chicago, Ill. - First-year University of Illinois at Chicago Head Volleyball Coach Nancy Mueller took over the Flames' bench this season and has instilled a winning attitude that had been lacking in recent years amongst her new troops.
That winning attitude will be put on display on Thursday evening, as UIC will look for its first Horizon League Tournament win in five seasons as the #5 Flames will take on #8 Youngstown State in the first round at 6:30 p.m. (CST) in front of a Penguin partisan crowd in YSU's Beeghly Center.
The winner of the match will take on #4 Cleveland State in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday night.
UIC last claimed a Horizon League Tournament, then MCC, victory in 1999, when the Flames picked up the three-game sweep over Cleveland State in the quarterfinals.
UIC had swept the season series between the two teams, with the Flames edging the Penguins in their most recent match (30-19, 29-31, 31-29, 28-30, 15-12) at the Beeghly Center on October 23rd.
"I am very excited about our pairing for the Horizon League Championships," Mueller said. "I think any team we face is going to be a tough challenge.
"Youngstown State was a tough match for us in October and I think it will be a dogfight again this time."
Leading the charge for the Flames will be freshman right-side hitter Katarina Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic has connected for double-digit kills in her last 10 matches, while averaging 14.6 kills per outing.
UIC will also look to senior outside hitter Jordan Studzinski and sophomore middle hitter Ambria Springer to rack up some kills for the Flames. Studzinski leads the squad with 316 kills, while Springer is close behind with 287 kills and a team-best 113 total blocks.
Mueller is looking forward to her first appearance in the Horizon League Tournament and believes that the race is wide open for the championship. "Because of the parity of the Horizon League, I think the championship is attainable by any team," Mueller said. "It's going to be a great tournament to coach in, as well as watch."
For more information regarding the Flames and this weekend's tournament, check out the latest weekly release for news, notes and more.
