Aug. 27, 2010
CHICAGO - The UIC volleyball team has been training for months and is finally ready to get the 2010 season under way on Friday night.
After an offseason of intense preparation, the Flames will open the season at the Chicagoland Challenge Friday night August 27th at 7:30 p.m. UIC will square off against the tournament host, the DePaul Blue Demons, in their opening match. The winner of that contest will move on to the championship match on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to face either Horizon League rival, Loyola, or Big Ten foe, Northwestern.
The consolation bout will take place at 5:00 p.m. All matches throughout the tournament will be held at McGrath Arena on DePaul's Lincoln Park campus.
UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley is optimistic about her team's outlook in 2010 and ready to get the new season kicked off.
"I thought we had a good preseason," said the second-year head coach. "I'm looking forward to this weekend to see where we're at and find out what else we need to work on to prepare us for conference."
The Flames return a talented group of seniors including Jessica Dalke, Epiphany Davis, Casie Sullivan and Taylor Szatkowski, all of whom Schumacher-Cawley expects solid performances from in 2010, and with good reason. Sullivan, an outside hitter, was named to the All-Horizon League Team in 2009, Davis ranks seventh all-time on UIC's block assist list with 252, while Dalke falls eighth in the all-time assists rankings with 1,976. Finally, Szatkowski led UIC with 403 digs last season.
"The seniors are definitely the leaders of the team," said Schumacher-Cawley this week. "They have a ton of quality experience and a great work ethic. They are really helpful with the younger players on our team."
Other returning upperclassmen include a pair of talented juniors who figure to see plenty of time on the court this season in outside hitter Janise Dismuke and defensive specialist Kate Eldred.
The Flames also boast a strong collection of young players who are eager to make an impact as well. Sophomore Kelsey Safranek was named to the Horizon League Newcomer Team a year ago. The Downers Grove, Ill. native started 30 matches as a true freshman in 2009 and ranked second on the team with 314 kills for an average of 2.53 per set.
Redshirt Nicole Allgood, who began her collegiate career at Louisville, and Chicago native Jacqueline Lang round out the sophomore group for UIC this season.
The Flames welcome the strongest freshman class in years as distinguished by PrepVolleyball.com earlier this summer. UIC garnered an honorable mention and was the only Horizon League program to earn that distinction.
The newcomer group includes Justine Garcia, MaryKate Imrie, Maggie Strus and Rita Witteman. Aubrey Sniegowski will also see her first action in a Flames uniform in 2010 as a redshirt freshman.
"Our freshmen are all competing and will definitely get playing time," said Schumacher-Cawley. "They're all pushing each other and their teammates to better and they're doing a great job so far."
Following the Chicagoland Challenge, UIC will return home next weekend as they welcome Memphis, Kennesaw State and Northern Illinois for the UIC Invitational. All matches will be played on Friday, September 3rd and Saturday, September 4th at the UIC Pavilion.
The Flames will round out the pre-conference portion of the schedule on September 10-11 when it travels to Jacksonville, Florida for a two-day tournament hosted by North Florida.
"These three preseason tournaments we're in will be a great test against excellent competition that will prepare us well for Horizon League play," said Schumacher-Cawley.
Ready or not, it's time for the Flames to fire up and get another year started.
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