Sept. 15, 2006
UIC Invitational Game Notes in PDF Format
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Chicago, Ill. - Tournament play hits the Flames Athletic Center this weekend as the volleyball team hosts the UIC Invitational, Sept. 15-16. Other than Flames, participants include North Texas, Western Illinois and Western Michigan. UIC tangles with Western Illinois at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, followed by two matches on Saturday against North Texas at 11:00 a.m. and a 7:00 p.m. matchup versus Western Michigan.
The Flames enter this weekend's three-match event 4-8 on the season. Despite UIC falling to Northern Illinois on Sept 12, junior Katarina Nedeljkovic picked up her 19th career double-double versus the Huskies with 16 kills and 14 digs.
On the season, Ambria Springer powers the Flames with 152 kills and 51 blocks. Julie Popp owns a team-high 170 digs, averaging 4.05 per game. Senior Katie Kozak guides UIC's offense with 465 assists, while also leading the Flames with 16 service aces and a .250 attack percentage.
North Texas (6-6) is coming off a second-place finish at its own Mean Green Classic. UNT topped Texas Southern and Sam Houston, but was swept by the University of Oklahoma for a 2-1 record. Overall, Tara Hooser guides UNT with 121 kills and Jessica Hulsebosch dominates on defense with 272 digs in only 12 matches.
Western Illinois enters this weekend's UIC Invitational 3-7 after falling to Drake on Sept. 12 in three games. In ten matches this season, Ashley Baker leads Western Illinois with 101 kills, averaging 3.74 per game, while Jennifer Alexander averages 5.61 digs per game. With five players posting double figures in blocks, newcomer Erin Frick powers the Westerwinds at the net with 38.
After falling to #14 Purdue in three games on Sept. 9, Western Michigan bounced back to sweep Horizon League's Loyola this to improve its records to 8-3. Overall, Kathryn Babcock powers the Broncos on offense, recording 134 kills and Caitlin Strimel owns a team-high 192 digs.
UIC battles Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, Sept. 19 in Charleston at 7:00 p.m. before breaking into Horizon League action.
For more information on the UIC Invitational, please click on the game notes above.
