Sept. 16, 2011

Box Score

DEKALB, Ill. - The UIC volleyball team fell in straight sets (25-14, 25-14, 26-24) to Northern Illinois Friday at the Victor E. Court in DeKalb, Ill. The Flames had a third-set rally, but were edged 26-24 by the Huskies.

"I thought in the third set we played more consistent," head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. "We need to bring that every time we step on the floor. We must continue to work every day to prepare for conference. Northern Illinois is a good team. Their hitting percentage in the first set (.667) is national caliber."

The Flames (6-5) dropped in consecutive 25-14 decisions in the first two sets, before battling for each point in the third set, but fell just short to the Huskies (10-3) in a 26-24 outcome.

In the first set, Janise Dismuke (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) hammered down four of the squad's 12 kills at a clip of .600. The Huskies had a hitting percentage of .667, which propelled them to a 25-14 win.

Moving into the second set, NIU came out to an early lead and continued to improve their score. Despite UIC having nine kills in comparison to the Huskies' 12, the squad was unable to rebound from attack errors. NIU picked up the second set in a 25-14 decision to gain a 2-0 lead over the Flames in the match.

The Flames earned a 3-0 lead in the third set, before the Huskies battled back to a 4-4 score. NIU then regained the lead, but not for long as Jacqueline Lang (Chicago, Ill./Marist) served for a three-point run to place the Flames ahead at 9-6. The match continued in a back-and-forth fashion through the entire match. Freshman Sara Sternard (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Westmont) was among many of her former teammates from Westmont as she knocked down a kill to bring the set to an even 12.

The teams found a tie score six more times during the set. As NIU began to pull away towards the end of the set to find the set and match point, but due to a service error by NIU, redshirt junior Nicole Allgood (Crestwood, Ky./South Oldham) led the Flames to a rally as she brought the score to an even 24. Despite the battle, the Huskies edged the Flames 26-24 to win the third set and the match in a 3-0 outcome.

The Flames return to action Monday at 7:00 p.m. (CT) in a match against Chicago State. Fans can follow the live stats and live videostream, which can be found at UICFlames.com.

--UIC--