Sept. 4, 2010
Box Score
CHICAGO - In a dog fight with the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday night in the finale of the UIC Invitational at the UIC Pavilion, the host Flames fell to their in-state rivals, 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 14-25).
The final score did not reflect the tone of the match, which saw both teams fighting vigorously for each and every point. The first two sets were decided by a total of five points and UIC (2-3) fought until the bitter end in set three before dropping the final frame, 25-14.
"The first two games we played well, scrapped and fought really hard," said UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. "We were passing the ball the first two games, but we didn't do that in the third game.
"We have to do a better job on the defensive end," said the second-year head coach.
In the opening set, the Flames roared out to an early 7-3 lead following a kill by Safranek. The Huskies countered right back to tie the match at 10 following a point by Lauren Wincinski. Both teams kept fighting tooth and nail; a diving dig by Taylor Szatkowski set up a kill by Casie Sullivan off an assist from Jessica Dalke to give the home team a 17-14 advantage. As they did all set, Northern Illinois came right back and took control at the end with a kill from Wicinski to gain a two-point advantage, 24 -22. Safranek committed an attacking error on match point to end the frame in favor of the Huskies.
Safranek and redshirt sophomore Janise Dismuke tied for the team-lead with four kills in the opening frame, while the Huskies Wicinski led all players with seven in that same game. Northern Illinois setter Kristin Hoffman assisted on 17 of her team's 25 points.
The battle between the in-state rivals continued furiously into the second set. The teams traded points until UIC built a 15-11 lead following three straight kills by Aubrey Sniegowki, Safranek and Dismuke which forced Northern Illinois to call a timeout. Following the quick break, the Huskies stormed right back to cut the Flames' lead to 15-14.
UIC went on another run to build the lead to 19-15 after a Safranek kill forced another timeout by NIU head coach Ray Gooden. The ninth-year head coach's words resonated with his team and they scored three straight points to pull within one and force UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to call a timeout of her own. The Huskies tied the set at 23 following an attack error by UIC and scored the next two points at the hands of more Flames miscues, a bad set and another attack error, to take a 2-0 advantage in the match heading into the third.
Epiphany Davis led UIC with five kills in the second set, while Wicinski recorded seven in her second straight set. Dalke led the Flames with 14 second-game helpers.
The Huskies hustled to a 10-5 lead early in the third set which forced Schumacher-Cawley to call timeout to slow down the momentum. Unfortunately for the Flames, the break did not do much good as they were not immediately able to close the gap. Northern Illinois played its best overall set of the evening and bested UIC to win the match, 25-14.
UIC's Safranek was named to the All-Tournament Team, where she was joined by Kennesaw State's Alyssa Lang, Memphis' Altrese Hawkins and Northern Illinois' Maddie Hughes. The Huskies' Lauren Wicinski took home MVP honors.
"Our team improved from last weekend and we learned a lot," said Safranek after the match. "We're pushing forward and getting ready for our Florida weekend next weekend and then to conference."
The Flames head to the University of North Florida Tournament next weekend in Jacksonville, Fla.
