Sept. 8, 2011
CHICAGO - The UIC volleyball team continues non-conference play as the squad travels to Evansville, Ind., for the Dunn Hospitality Invitational. The team squares off against Arizona Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) at the Carson Center as Evansville plays host to the tournament.
The Flames (5-1) face Arizona (5-1) Friday, followed by two matches Saturday. UIC battles Evansville (7-2) at 10:00 a.m. and conclude the tournament in a contest against Southeast Missouri State (2-5) at 3:00 p.m.
HORIZON LEAGUE LEADERS
Kelsey Safranek (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) is in second place for the Horizon League Conference in kills with 84 for a 3.82 per set average. MaryKate Imrie (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) leads the conference in assists with 237 at a clip of 10.77. Maggie Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) is the Horizon League leader in service aces with 12 at 0.55.
CATHOLIC CONNECTION
Redshirt sophomore Jacqueline Lang (Chicago, Ill./Marist) and Evansville's sophomore Jenn Murphy (Wilmington, Ill./Joliet Catholic) were members of the East Suburban Catholic Conference during their high school playing days. Lang helped the RedHawks to three conference championships, while Murphy was a member of the state championship team in 2008 and 2009.
STERNARD GETTIN' IT DONE
Freshman Sara Sternard (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Westmont) notched a hitting percentage of .325 to move into the seventh-place spot in the Horizon League. During the match against DePaul, the freshman had 15 kills at a clip of .609, followed by six kills (.417) during the Northwestern contest.
ALL-CHICAGOLAND CHALLENGE
Following UIC's two matches during the Chicagoland Challenge, Safranek and Sternard were selected to the all-Chicagoland Challenge team. In the match against DePaul, Safranek and Sternard led the teams in kills with 15 each. Safranek added eight kills, while Sternard knocked down six kills (.417) during the Northwestern show down.
SHARING THE LOVE
Sophomore co-captain MaryKate Imrie (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) began the season with back-to-back double-doubles as she claimed 14 digs and 35 assists in the victory over Nebraska-Omaha and added 12 digs and handed out 38 assists in the sweep over Bradley. The setter added 45 assists in the Western Illinois, 3-1 victory. Imrie then added 81 assists during the Chicagoland Challenge, including a career-high 51 in the match against DePaul, then 29 versus Northwestern. She now leads the conference in assists with 237 at a clip of 10.77.
FAST STARTS
UIC is off to a 5-1 record to begin the season, the best record the Flames have acquired since 2000 when the squad went 6-0 to begin the campaign.
Be sure to check back to UICFlames.com for complete results and a recap from each match during the Dunn Hospitality Invitational. --UIC--
