Sept. 22, 2011

CHICAGO -The UIC volleyball team (7-5/0-1) returns to action Friday as the Flames take on conference and cross-city rival, Loyola (3-7/0-0), at 7:00 p.m. (CT) at the Galas Recreation Center in Chicago.

CATHOLIC CONNECTION : Freshman Dominique Aramburu (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) and Loyola freshman, MaryKate Styler (Oak Lawn, Ill./Mother McAuley) played together while at Mother McAuley. The duo assisted the Mighty Macs to four Girls Catholic Athletic Conference championships, while also garnering two sectional championships and a regional championship. Redshirt sophomore, Jacqueline Lang (Chicago, Ill./Marist) and senior Natalie Pounovich (Hickory Hills, Ill./Marist) were teammates at Marist, where they led the RedHawks to three East Suburban Catholic Conference championships and two regional crowns.

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.

CONFERENCE PLAY UNDERWAY: The Flames opened their conference season with a 3-0 loss to Valparaiso Sept. 14. The Flames enter the match with Loyola with a 1-0 record, while UIC is the first conference opponent Loyola plays this season.

LAST TIME OUT: The squad defeated Chicago State (1-12) in straight sets Mon., Sept. 19 at the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago. Redshirt junior Janise Dismuke (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) led all players with 13 kills, earning eight in the third set. As a team, the Flames led the Cougars 44-29 in kills, while sophomore co-captain MaryKate Imrie chipped in 34 assists on her own, in comparison to the 26 that Chicago State logged as a team.

FOLLOWING THE FLAMES VOLLEYBALL SQUAD: Fans can follow the UIC volleyball match against Loyola through the or live video stream.

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