Oct. 8, 2011

Box Score

CHICAGO - The UIC volleyball team defeated Youngstown State Saturday in straight sets (25-22, 25-14, 25-22) at the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago, Ill. Junior Kelsey Safranek (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) led the match in kills with 19 on 40 total attempts for a hitting percentage of .425.

"I thought MaryKate [Imrie] did a nice job moving the ball," head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. "All around it was a great team effort, and it's always nice to get a win at home. We will be back and ready to go Sunday for the match against Cleveland State."

The Flames (12-6/5-2 in the Horizon League) earned a hitting percentage of .350, in comparison to Youngstown State's (2-17/1-6 in the Horizon League) .168. Sophomore Aubrey Sniegowski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont Township) added 10 kills, while redshirt junior Nicole Allgood (Crestwood, Ky./South Oldham) chipped in seven in the afternoon match. In addition to her 19 kills, Safranek claimed nine digs in the victory over the Penguins.

To begin the first set, the Flames went on a 9-3 run, while freshman Sara Sternard (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Westmont) held serve for seven of the nine points and redshirt junior Janise Dismuke (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) hammered down three kills in the run. The Penguins were resilient and brought the score within two points, but Safranek closed out the set with a kill and a 25-22 decision and a 1-0 lead in the match.

UIC controlled much of the second set as the Penguins squad's longest point streak was limited to two. MaryKate Imrie (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) led off a five-point run for the Flames with a block to propel the Flames to a hefty 13-6 lead. UIC continued to build on their lead and closed the set with back-to-back kills from Sniegowski and Safranek for a 25-14 win and a two-set lead in the match.

In the third set of the match, UIC came out to a 7-3 lead, which was set in motion by a five-point run. The Penguins fought and answered with a five-point run later in the set to gain the lead, but it wasn't enough as Safranek knocked down six kills in the remainder of the set to lead the Flames to a 25-22 victory in the set and a 3-0 sweep in the match.

The Flames return to action Sunday in a 4:00 p.m. (CT) match against Cleveland State at the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago, Ill. Fans can follow live stats and the live video stream, which can be found at UICFlames.com.