Nov. 3, 2011

CHICAGO - The UIC volleyball team (14-11/7-6 in Horizon League) has its final regular season road trip as the Flames take on Cleveland State Friday at 6:00 p.m. (CT) inside the Woodling Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio, followed by Youngstown State Saturday at 3:00 p.m. (CT) inside the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES: UIC has posted a 14-11 record with a 7-6 record in Horizon League play and is in fifth place. Kelsey Safranek (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) has hammered down 382 kills on the season to place her atop the conference list of kills per set at a clip of 4.29. Freshman Sara Sternard (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Westmont) and junior redshirt captain Janise Dismuke (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) are in fifth place (.301) and eighth place (.291), in that order in the league for hitting percentage. Sophomore captain MaryKate Imrie (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) leads the Horizon League in assists per set with 10.98. The UIC squad is in the third-place spot in kills (13.11/set) and fourth place in assists (11.99/set) and service aces at 1.13 per set.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State has a 16-7 record, including a 9-3 record in Horizon League. The squad is in second place in the conference. The Vikings lead the league in hitting percentage at .233 and service aces at 1.63 per set. Cleveland State is in a first-place tie with Milwaukee for assists per set at a clip of 12.77. Jackie Dabbelt leads the conference in hitting percentage at .334 per set, while Megan Barhorst is in first place with .36 service aces per set.

FLAMES AND VIKINGS IN 2011: The Flames faced the Vikings Oct. 9, inside the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago, Ill., and fell 3-0 (23-25, 17-25, 20-25). Allgood had 10 kills (.333) and Safranek led the UIC squad with 12 kills.

FLAMES AND PENGUINS IN 2011: The Flames defeated the Penguins 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-22) Oct. 8 inside the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago, Ill. Safranek led the match in kills with 19 on 40 total attempts (.425). The squad as a whole earned a hitting percentage of .350, while Sniegowski chipped in 10 kills and Allgood added seven.

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS: Youngstown State has a 2-22 season record to date, including posting a 1-11 record in Horizon League play. The Penguins are in second place with 1.44 service aces per set. Missy Hundelt is in second place in the category with .35 service aces per set, while being in fifth place in kills with 269 at a clip of 3.41.

LAST TIME OUT: The UIC volleyball squad dropped to Butler, 3-0 (21-25, 10-25, 23-25) Oct. 29 inside the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Imrie logged a double-double as she earned 13 digs, while dishing out 29 assists.

FLAMES ON A ROLL: The UIC squad began the season on a five-match winning streak as the team defeated Nebraska-Omaha (3-1), Bradley (3-0), Western Illinois (3-1), DePaul (3-1) and Montana State (3-1). The five-match winning streak marked the best start a Flames volleyball team has had since 2000 when the squad began the season with a 6-0 run. Before the 3-0 loss to Milwaukee, UIC had its second five-match winning streak, beginning with a victory over Chicago State (3-0), Loyola (3-1), Green Bay (3-2), Butler (3-2) and Wright State (3-0).

FLAMES PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Safranek and Sternard have both been selected as the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week. Safranek earned the honor during the week of Sept. 5 after her stellar play at the Dunn Hospitality Invitational where totaled 55 kills at a clip of .202, while chipping in 33 digs and three service aces to earn herself a spot on the all-tournament team. Sternard was selected for the week of Sept. 19 after her solid play in the 3-1 victory over Loyola (Sept. 23), followed by edging out Green Bay, 3-2 on Sept. 24. Sternard had eight kills at a clip of .538 against the Ramblers and 12 kills with a .600 hitting percentage against Green Bay.

ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS: The Flames began their season at Bradley's tournament, the CEFCU Classic, where Dismuke returned to her hometown to be selected as the tournament MVP, while Safranek and Imrie were named to the all-tournament team. UIC then welcomed DePaul, Loyola and Northwestern to the Flames Athletic Facility for the Chicagoland Challenge and Safranek and Sternard earned all-tournament honors. During the final tournament, the Dunn Hospitality Invitational, Safranek was again selected as a member of the all-tournament team.

--UIC—