Sept. 12, 2009
Box Score
CHICAGO- The UIC volleyball team remained undefeated on its home floor, fighting to a 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 15-25, 25-23) win against Duquesne Saturday morning at the UIC Invitational.
After getting behind by as many as nine points, the Flames (3-6) went on a 20-4 run to slam the door on Duquesne (7-3) and the first game. Nine straight points on Jessica Dalke's service gave UIC the lead, 19-16, before a Dukes' sideout. The Flames would get the ball right back on a Casie Sullivan kill, and Sulllivan would then serve three straight points to push the UIC lead to 23-18.
"The team showed great fight," Flames head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. "Casie Sullivan really stepped up and was consistant for us."
A pair of Kelsey Safranek kills gave UIC the first game win, 25-18.
UIC was never behind in set two. The Flames put together four separate runs of three straight points apiece to hold the lead and eventually take the 25-17 win. Four straight ended the game, with a pair of service aces from Dalke sandwiched between kills from Sullivan and senior Lana Lobdell closing out the game.
The teams from the first two games seemed reversed in set three, with Duquesne putting itself in the driver's seat and cruising to the 25-15 win.
Set four was the closest battle of the match, with the largest advantage being taken by the Flames at four points. The score would knot seven times before UIC closed out the set and the match on a pair of errors by the Dukes for the 25-23 win.
The Flames recorded a season-high 13 blocks in the win, with Lobdell tallying seven. Safranek had six blocks, while the duo paired up on three blocks in the match. Sullivan again led the offense, recording 14 kills in the match. Safranek had 10, while Dalke handed out 40 assists. Libero Taylor Szatkowski anchored the defense with 12 digs.
"I thought our middles did a much better job of blocking today," Schumacher-Cawley said.
The Flames will play their final game of the UIC Invitational Saturday evening, with a 7 p.m. contest against No. 18 Michigan State a t the Flames Athletic Center.
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