Box Score Tournament Central

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The UIC volleyball team (5-8) started the Penn State Alumni Classic with a 3-2 win (25-19, 25-14, 20-25, 25-27, 15-7) over East Carolina (5-1) Friday afternoon. The Flames put down 69 kills and handed the Pirates their first loss of the season.

UIC continues tournament action at the PSU Alumni Classic Saturday morning with an 8 am matchup with No. 3 Penn State. The Nittany Lions won their sixth NCAA National Championship in 2013 and are 8-1 this season.

UIC has put down at least 60 kills on seven occasions this season and ranks 36th in the nation with 14.02 kills per set. The Flames also recorded a season-high nine service aces.

Junior middle blocker Stephenee Yancy extended her double-digit kill streak to 13 matches with 22 kills on 49 attempts for a .327 attack percentage. Yancy put down 10 kills on 15 attempts in the first set victory.

The 2013 UIC Flames had one 20-kill effort and Yancy owns two in her first 13 matches with the program. Over her last three matches, Yancy has averaged 19.0 kills and a .372 attack percentage.

Redshirt freshman Nicole Johnson, who leads the nation in assists, dished out 52 assists for her seventh match with at least 50 assists this season. She also had 10 digs for her fifth double-double and recorded four aces to increase her team-leading total to 17. Johnson has 13 aces over her last six contests.

Sophomore Kara Johnson collected her sixth consecutive double-double with 16 kills on 36 attempts and a career-high 21 digs. Johnson owns nine double-doubles overall this season and 13 in her UIC career. Johnson also set a career-high with a .389 attack percentage. She had four kills on eight attempts and zero errors in the fifth set win.

Senior Maggie Strus compiled 18 digs for her tenth double-digit effort. She now owns 1,451 career digs, which ranks second in program history, and needs 81 more to become UIC's all-time dig leader.

Senior Molly McCoy put down 13 kills on 26 attempts for her fifth double-digit effort over the last six matches. She passed the 600-career kill plateau in the third set with four kills on seven attempts.

Redshirt junior Tracy Friel collected 14 digs for her tenth double-digit performance. She also added two service aces and owns 12 this season. Friel extended her streak with at least one service ace to six matches and owns eight over that span.

The first set was tied 8-8 before a 4-0 UIC run with Friel serving gave the Flames a lead they would never relinquish. UIC hit .459 in the first set with 19 kills on only 37 attempts. The Flames hit at a .455 clip in the second set and recorded four service aces on their way to a dominating 25-14 set win.

ECU used 18 kills and a .410 attack percentage in the third set to pull away from a close contest in a 25-20 victory. McCoy's fifth kill of the fourth set tied the score at 25-25 before a Yancy error and kill by Zarah Cecich allowed the Pirates to tie the match at 2-2. UIC got back on track offensively in the final set with 11 kills on only 19 attempts (.474 attack percentage) for a commanding 15-7 win.