Nov. 19, 2010
Box Score
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MILWAUKEE - The UIC volleyball team saw the 2010 campaign come to an end on Friday afternoon as they fell to the Cleveland State Vikings in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Volleyball Championship, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-17).
UIC (13-18, 7-9 Horizon League) never got into a rhythm offensively on Friday, hitting .136 for the match. The Flames were also outdug by Cleveland State, 47-41, and the Vikings notched nine blocks in the match to just three for UIC.
The Flames kept the first game tight early on by trading points through the early going and found themselves leading 5-4 following a kill by All-Horizon League honoree Kelsey Safranek. It was the Vikings who would go on to rattle off five points in a row to take a 9-5 lead that they would never surrender in the opening set en route to a 25-18 win.
As a team, Cleveland State dominated the net in the first set. UIC hit just .074 (9-7-27) in the first, while the Vikings attacked at a clip of .370 (13-3-27). The Flames did not record a block, while Cleveland State sent five balls back at the opponent.
Safranek and teammate Kate Eldred connected on three kills apiece, while senior Jessica Dalke assisted on nine points in the set.
UIC quickly forgot about the opening-game loss and rebounded with a quick start in game two. The Flames busted out to a 9-6 lead before the Vikings crept back in to knot the affair at 11 and eventually take a one-point lead. Katie Schumacher-Cawley's squad kept battling and regained the lead at 14-13, but the set was far from over.
Cleveland State took a 23-21 lead on a service ace by Kara Koch which prompted Schumacher-Cawley to call a timeout and attempt to get the momentum back on her team's side. The Flames got a quick kill from Aubrey Sniegowski to cut into the lead, but the Vikings answered right back with a point of their own. Eldred sliced the lead back down to one, but back-to-back kills by the Vikings gave them a favorable 2-0 lead in the match.
After being shut out of the kill column in the first set, Sniegowski rebounded to lead her team with five kills in the second. The team numbers improved in the second, as well, with UIC's attacking percentage moving up to .220 (15-6-41). The Flames also recorded two blocks to just one for Cleveland State in the second set.
UIC got off to another solid start in the third set as they built an 8-5 advantage before the Vikings ripped off three straight points to tie it at eight which forced the sixth-seeded Flames to call a timeout to try and once again slow down Cleveland State's momentum.
Much as they did in the second set, UIC and Cleveland State traded points until the match was tied at 16. At that point, the Vikings when on another run, scoring eight straight times to take a 24-16 lead. That run would prove to be enough to help the third seed move on to Saturday's semifinal match as they went on to win, 25-17.
Safranek led the Flames with 10 kills, while Cleveland State's Koch led all players with 11 in the match. Dalke had 34 assists in her final match in a UIC uniform.
Also playing in their last matches for the Flames, Epiphany Davis had five kills and two blocks, while Taylor Szatkowski recorded a team-high 11 digs.
"I want to thank the seniors for all their efforts, not only this season, but throughout their careers," said Schumacher-Cawley. "It's unfortunate that it had to end this way."
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