Aug. 23, 2012

CHICAGO - The UIC volleyball team begins its 2012 campaign Friday at the two-day Colgate Classic in Hamilton, N.Y. The Flames opening match of the tournament and season is against Syracuse at 3:00 p.m. (CT). During the second day of the tournament, UIC faces Colgate at 11:30 a.m., followed by Bryant at 3:30 p.m.

Of UIC's 13-person roster, 11 return from the 2011 season. Among the returnees is senior outside hitter Kelsey Safranek (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South), who was named to the Horizon League Preseason Team. The honor is Safranek's fourth all-Horizon League nod. As a freshman, she was named to the all-Newcomer Team, followed by consecutive all-League honors. She was also named the "Offensive Player of the Week" on September 12, 2011. Safranek hammered down 466 kills during the 2011 season to place her career total at 1,158.

Sophomore middle hitter Sara Sternard (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Westmont), who was named to the Horizon League all-Newcomer Team during her freshman season also returns to the court for the Flames. In her rookie season, Sternard was named UIC's "Most Improved Player" and also earned the League's "Offensive Player of the Week" on Sept. 26.

In addition to Safranek, there are four seniors on the squad, Janise Dismuke (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods), Jacqueline Lang (Chicago, Ill./Marist), Aubrey Sniegowski (Lemont, Ill./Lemont Township) and Nicole Allgood (Crestwood, Ky./South Oldham).

The 2011 team completed the season with a 14-15 overall record, while compiling a 7-9 record against conference opponents. The Flames defeated Loyola and Green Bay during both meetings in the season. UIC entered the Horizon League Tournament as the No. 5 seed, and squared off against fourth-seeded Valparaiso in the quarterfinal round of the Horizon League Championship, and fell to the Crusaders.

Be sure to check back with UICFlames.com following the match for a complete recap and statistics from the match.