Aug. 27, 2010
Final Stats
Box Score in PDF Format
CHICAGO - The UIC volleyball team kicked off the 2010 season and kicked off the rust early on Friday night to come from behind to beat the DePaul Blue Demons at the Chicagoland Challenge, 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 15-8).
The Flames (1-0) committed 15 early attacking errors and dropped the first two sets by a combined six points before rallying to win three straight by a combined 25 points to win their first match of the season. In the final three sets, UIC committed only nine errors, all of which came in sets three and four. In the decisive fifth set, UIC did not commit an error and posted its highest attack percentage of the evening, .435.
With the fifth set tied at 7-7, the Flames took control and built a four-point lead highlighted by powerful kills from a pair of seniors, Jessica Dalke and Casie Sullivan. A kill by DePaul's (0-1) Chelsea Kirkpatrick made it 11-8 for the visitors, but then UIC went on another four-point run capped off by sophomore Kelsey Safranek's match-winning spike on a pretty strong assist from junior Janise Dismuke.
UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley sensed the positive change her team made as they began the third set with their backs against the wall.
"I think we came out the third game and served aggressive and our passing was much better," said Schumacher-Cawley. "They all fought hard, they showed guts and took better care of the ball."
"It was an awesome team effort," said Sullivan after the match. "We kept some energy going through the third game and that's how we like to play. That's what UIC volleyball is all about."
Safranek tallied a match-high and career-high 21 kills, while Sullivan added 17 and Dismuke, 15, for the Flames. Dismuke also led all players on Friday night with an attack percentage of .387 and tied all competitors with five blocks.
Newcomer Justine Garcia, who earned the start as the libero in her first collegiate match, led UIC with 23 digs.
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair. The Flames got on the scoreboard first when Dismuke hammered home her first kill of the season on an assist by Dalke, who recorded a game-high 56 assists on the night. The two teams traded scores for the entire set, but in the end, the host Blue Demons claimed the first frame, 25-21.
The second set followed the same pattern as the first with both teams trading scores for much of the way. Dismuke repeated her opening effort, earning the first point of the set for the Flames with a strong kill to kick off the second set as she helped UIC build up an early 6-3 lead. DePaul fought back ferociously once again and the Blue Demons would prevail in the second set, 25-23.
"I don't think we played good volleyball and we weren't ready to go game one," said Schumacher-Cawley. "You can't miss that many serves and go down by that many points and expect to turn it around."
Trailing two sets to none, the Flames controlled the third set from the opening serve by cleaning up many of the mistakes which plagued them in the first two sets. UIC opened the third set with an early 7-3 advantage and never looked back. Leading 17-10, Flames redshirt sophomore Nicole Allgood took the serve and helped her team rattle off seven straight points to put the Blue Demons in the rearview mirror for good. UIC claimed the third set by a commanding score of 25-14.
Safranek and Sullivan each registered four kills in the third set, while Allgood had a team-high five digs.
In the fourth set, UIC took an early lead again, building a 10-5 advantage on a kill by senior Epiphany Davis. A 7-4 run and a kill by DePaul's Anastasiya Shutava pulled DePaul within two at 14-12, but that was as close as they would come as the Flames easily prevailed again, 25-18.
The Flames advance to the Chicagoland Challenge championship match Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. against the Big Ten's Northwestern Wildcats. The contest will be held at DePaul's McGrath Arena. Loyola will face DePaul in the consolation match at 5:00 p.m.
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