Box Score (PDF)

CHICAGO -

Final Stats

The UIC volleyball team defeated conference foe, Loyola, 3-1 (20-25, 27-25, 22-25, 23-25) Friday at the Halas Sports Center in Chicago, Ill. The Flames fought back from a seven-point deficit in the fourth set to win the set and match. Nicole Allgood (Crestwood, Ky./South Oldham) hammered down 13 kills at a clip of .394, the highest of all players in the match.

"This was a great team win," head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. "It is always nice to win at Loyola, and it has such a great atmosphere. We have to continue to work for each point every time we play."

The Flames (8-5/1-1) were led in kills by junior Kelsey Safranek (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) with 17, while freshman Sara Sternard (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Westmont) knocked down eight kills at a clip of .538. Redshirt junior captain Janise Dismuke (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) added 12 kills (.286) and Allgood put down 13 at .394.

During the first set, the Ramblers came out to an early 2-0 lead, the only lead the squad would gain on the Flames in the set. Sternard battled back as the freshman went on a three-point serving spree to earn a 4-2 lead. The Flames then caught momentum as Dismuke earned a solo block, before redshirt sophomore Maggie Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) blanked Loyola with a service ace to force the Ramblers to take a timeout. UIC came back out in force as they squad pulled away to five-point lead, the largest of the set. The teams exchanged points through the duration of the set, before Safranek served for the final two points of the set, which placed the Flames at a 1-0 advantage in the match.

The Flames battled in the second set as the set went to a tie score seven times, the first being at 18-18 and the final at 25-25, before the Ramblers pulled away to a 27-25 decision to even the match score to 1-1.

With the match score even at one each, the Flames entered the set with a 4-0 advantage as Allgood served for the first four points, while Sternard knocked down back-to-back kills. UIC caught momentum as the squad went on two three-point runs and a four-point run to gain their largest lead of the set, which was eight points. With the match at 21-16 in favor of UIC, Safranek hammered down three-consecutive kills to place the score at 23-18. Just as Allgood began the third set, she finished it the same with back-to-back kills to secure the victory at a 25-22 outcome.

In the fourth set, UIC was down 10-17 to the Ramblers, but went on two separate four-point runs, and outscored Loyola 8-1 to even the score out at 18-18. From there, the score went back and forth, before Dismuke ended the match with a kill and a 25-23 decision.

The Flames return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT) in a match against Green Bay. Fans can follow the live stats and live videostream, which can be found at UICFlames.com.