Box Score Oct. 16, 2015 Box Score
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- UIC prevailed in a tightly-contested match as it pieced together its third Horizon League victory away from home Friday night by downing the Youngstown State Penguins at the Beeghly Center, 3-1 (25-22, 30-28, 14-25, 26-24).
With Friday's victory the Flames have won three consecutive matches overall for the second time this season. Head coach Katie Schumacher Cawley's squad has also won three of its first four Horizon League matches away from home this fall.
"We talked as a team all week about how difficult it can be to play on the road in this conference," said Schumacher-Cawley. "After a few good days of preparation, everyone came out tonight with a strong a focus and ready compete from the start. Things didn't always go our way, but we never backed down and we never gave up the fight. In order to get to where we are trying to go, we need to be able to maintain that drive moving forward."
The first set provided UIC's largest margin of victory in any of its three set wins, and it was only three points. The Flames were the first side to reach 10 points when setter Nicole Johnson aced the Penguins to provide a four-point advantage. The Penguins would go on an extended 11-6 run, however, to take their first lead of the match since going ahead 3-2 early on.
UIC soon trailed 21-18, but a Youngstown State serving error sparked six-point run that provided a 24-21 lead. Stephenee Yancy supplied two kills during the surge by the Flames, while classmate Tracy Friel netted a pair of aces. Alyssa Ehrhardt eventually sent down a kill that sealed a 25-21 triumph in the premiere frame.
The Flames were seemingly in control for the majority of the second stanza, right up until the Penguins made a late push near the end. UIC led by as many as eight points on multiple occasions, including in the late stages, 22-16. YSU battled all the way back and it was able to even the ledger at 24-all after back-to-back attacking errors from the Flames. Schumacher-Cawley used a timeout, but after the stoppage the home team produced another big block to go ahead, 25-24.
Casey Harris and Nicole Johnson evened the score sheet with a block and the teams went back and forth until they were tied once again at 28-28 thanks to a Harris kill. The Flames gained a 29-28 advantage when Yancy and Kyisha Hunt paired up to block YSU's Sam Brown before an attacking error on the home side handed the visitors a 30-28 victory and a 2-0 lead for the match.
The second set Friday marked the first time this season that the Flames required 30 points to win a game. The team's previous high was 28 points which came in the HL opener at Wright State on Sept. 25.
Youngstown State fired out to a 4-0 lead in the third set and UIC was unable to recover. The Flames were within striking distance, down 19-14, however the Penguins closed the frame with six unanswered points to slice their overall deficit in half.
UIC continued to play from behind for the first stages of the fourth set. Youngstown State led 13-6 as it appeared determined to force a decisive fifth set. The Flames, however, refused to back down. An inspired 10-3 run that finished with a block from Yancy and Kara Johnson evened the score at 16-16 and injected new life into the UIC side. They kept things until Hunt put her team ahead, 21-20, with a kill off an assist from Nicole Johnson. Later, a block from Yancy put the Flames in position to secure match point, but YSU stayed alive with a kill. Finally, Yancy hammered down back-to-back kills to seal a 26-24 set win and a 3-1 victory in the match.
Yancy was a force all night long against the Penguins. Behind a match-high 24 kills, the senior eclipsed 20 kills in a match for the eighth time this season and the fifth time against a conference opponent. The Aroma Park, Ill., native also defended up front well with a season-high seven blocks at YSU. Hunt was second on the squad in both kills and blocks Friday, finishing with nine and four, respectively.
Kara Johnson steadied UIC's back row with a team-high 14 digs. Libero Bridget Powell added 12, while Friel chipped in with 11 digs to go along with four aces. It is the second time in the last three matches that Friel put down four aces, matching a career high.
UIC will continue its trek through the Buckeye State Saturday when it visits Cleveland State, which defeated Valparaiso, 3-2, Friday. The Flames rallied from a 2-1 deficit and won a classic five-set battle in their last visit to Woodling Gymnasium on Nov. 1, 2014. Saturday's contest is slated to begin at 3 p.m. CT, and it will be streamed live on ESPN3.
