Sept. 18, 2011

CHICAGO -The UIC volleyball team (6-5) welcomes Chicago State (1-11) for a 7:00 p.m. (CT) match Monday in the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago, Ill.

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.

CONFERENCE PLAY UNDERWAY: The Flames opened their conference season with a 3-0 loss to Valparaiso Sept. 14, and continue Horizon League play Friday in a match against Loyola Friday and Green Bay Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT: The squad fell in 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. 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.

FOLLOWING THE FLAMES VOLLEYBALL SQUAD: Fans can follow the UIC versus Chicago State match via live stats or a live webstream.

Be sure to check back to UICFlames.com for complete results and a recap of the UIC match against Chicago State.