Sept. 15, 2011
CHICAGO - The UIC volleyball team (6-4) is set to play Northern Illinois (9-3) Friday in a 7:00 p.m. (CT) match on the Victor E. Court in DeKalb, Ill.
SISTER, SISTER Assistant coach Ellen Hayes is in her third season with the Flames volleyball program, while her sister, Sue Hayes, is in her third season as a member of the Huskies squad. Ellen served as a libero for the DePaul Blue Demons, while sister, Sue now serves in the same capacity for Northern Illinois.
ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS: The Flames began their season at Bradley's tournament, the CEFCU Classic where redshirt junior co-captain Janise Dismuke (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) returned to her hometown to be selected as the tournament MVP, while junior Kelsey Safranek (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) and sophomore co-captain MaryKate Imrie (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) 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 freshman Sara Sternard (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Westmont) earned all-tournament honors. During the final tournament, the Dunn Hospitality Invitational, Safranek was again selected as a member of the all-tournament team.
HORIZON LEAGUE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Following UIC's three weekend matches during the Dunn Hospitality Invitational, Safranek was selected as the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week. The junior totaled 55 kills for a clip of .202, while chipping in 33 digs and three service aces to propel her to the all-tournament team. Following the Friday match against Arizona, Safranek led all players in the contest against Evansville with 21 kills (.255), while adding two service aces, 12 digs and an assisted block. Safranek had a break-out match against Southeast Missouri State as she logged her second double-double of the weekend. She hammered down 28 kills (.273), a career high, to lead all players, while adding 12 digs and a solo block to assist the Flames in a 3-2 victory over the Redhawks.
SHARING THE LOVE: Imrie continues to dish out assists and improve her numbers consistently. In the 3-2 victory over Southeast Missouri State, the sophomore totaled a career-high 65 assists. The setter bested her previous career high of 51, which was set only one week earlier.
FOLLOWING THE FLAMES VOLLEYBALL SQUAD: Fans can follow the UIC versus Northern Illinois match via or in-match live blog.
Be sure to check back to UICFlames.com for complete results and a recap of the UIC match against Northern Illinois.
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