Sept. 11, 2009

Box Score

Box Score

CHICAGO- The Flames volleyball squad definitely made it interesting for the home faithful in its first match of the 2009 home schedule, taking a 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-16) win against Georgia State at the Flames Athletic Center.

"It was a great atmosphere here tonight," UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. "We had a great crowd; it's good to be back at UIC."

The game was the second match of the UIC Invitational, with the tournament marking the beginning of the Flames' 2009 home schedule.

Game one was a barn burner, with neither UIC (2-6) or Georgia State taking more than a five point advantage at any point. The Panthers took their last lead with a 25-26 advantage, and the Flames were able to close out the first game 29-27 on back-to-back kills from Kelsey Safranek and Nicole Allgood.

The second game started out much like the first, with both teams playing even through almost game point. The Flames took a 24-19 advantage, but let Georgia State score three straight to push the tally to 24-22. It was again Safranek closing out the game 25-22 with the kill.

In the deciding game, the Flames came out with a more dominating performance. UIC was never behind in the third game, leading by as many as eight in the game. Three straight points on Taylor Szatkowski's service brought UIC to match point, but a Panther side-out put the ball back on the other side of the court.

Safranek then finished the game for the third time on the evening with a kill, giving UIC the 25-16 game win and the 3-0 sweep of Georgia State.

Casie Sullivan led the offense with 15 kills on the night, while Safranek had 13. Jessica Dalke dished out 47 assists, while Kate Eldred tallied 16 digs for the Flames.


"It was a great team effort tonight," Schumacher-Cawley said. "I thought Kelsey Safranek and Casie Sullivan stepped up and played well the entire match."

The UIC Invitational continues with four matches Saturday. UIC plays Duquesne at 10 a.m., and will close out the invitational with a 7 p.m. contest against No. 18 Michigan State.

Fans can listen to podcasts featuring exclusive interviews with UIC head coaches, staff and student-athletes in two ways:

1. Download the free UIC Athletics Widget and click on the "UIC Flames Podcasts" link

2. Download podcasts for free on iTunes by searching "UIC Flames."