Nov. 7, 2009

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS - The UIC volleyball team pushed Butler to five sets, but were unable to pull out a victory, failing 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-22, 11-15) at the Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday evening.

The Flames (15-15, 8-7 Horizon) closed within three in opening set to the host Bulldogs (21-11, 10-4 Horizon) at 19-16 but were held at bay by six Butler blocks in the later stages of the game.

UIC took control of set two, jumping out to an 11-6 advantage, but the Bulldogs were resilient and clamped down to pull the game even at 18-18. The Flames utilized a pair of Butler miscues and threw down four kills, with the deciding kill coming from Epiphany Davis, to even the match up at one set apiece.

After the intermission, Butler broke open a 10-10 tie with a 10-3 run to coast to a 25-18 set three victory, but the Flames answered right back in the fourth set.

Casie Sullivan put up eight kills and Taylor Szatkowski had seven digs in set four, as the Flames overcame a 22-20 deficit with a kill from Nicole Allgood and three consecutive attack errors by Butler. Davis, as was the case in set two, threw down the winning kill to take the contest to the fifth and deciding set.

Butler came out with a 10-4 fifth set lead, aided by errorless play by the Bulldogs. UIC would come as close as three at 13-10, but Butler closed out the evening with a 15-11 set win for the match, the Bulldogs fourth win in a row.

"We showed fight tonight and had opportunities to win but did not take advantage," said head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. "Butler is a very good team that played well, and now we have to prepare for Loyola and the imminent league tournament.

Sullivan had a game-high 20 kills and 27 digs, while Jessica Dalke tallied 56 assists in the five-set affair.

The UIC Volleyball team closes out the regular season this week in the comfort of the Flames Athletic Center, stepping out of league play with a Tuesday night match-up against Western Illinois at 7 p.m before closing out the season with a visit from city rival Loyola on Saturday at 2 p.m.