Oct. 22, 2015
2015 UIC Statistics
2015 Horizon League Statistics 2015 UIC Prospectus
2015 UIC Record Book
CHICAGO -- UIC returns home to begin the second half of the Horizon League schedule this weekend when it welcomes league-newcomer Northern Kentucky and familiar foe Wright State to the Flames Athletic Center on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Flames opened conference play in 2015 at Wright State on Sept. 25 before continuing south to Northern Kentucky the following afternoon. UIC posted back-to-back 3-1 victories that weekend as it opened up Horizon League play with a 2-0 record for the first time since the 2012 campaign. UIC's Stephenee Yancy and Casey Harris were instrumental in the wins as the duo was named Horizon League Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for their tremendous efforts against the Raiders and the Norse.
UIC Match Notes
LAST TIME OUT
UIC went on the road last weekend and split a pair of matches against the only league teams it had yet to see thus far. The Flames opened the weekend with a tight 3-1 triumph at Youngstown State on Oct. 16 before dropping a three-set affair at Cleveland State the following day.
In the win over the Penguins, Stephenee Yancy led all players with 24 kills as she eclipsed 20 kills in a match for the eighth time this fall. Teammate Kara Johnson added eight kills and the junior chipped in with a team-high 14 digs last Friday.
At Cleveland State, the conference-leading Vikings hit .324 as a team, while UIC was limited to only 30 kills and plagued by 17 errors. Yancy hit a team-high .353, but she was limited to eight kills on 17 attempts Saturday.
JOHNSON SETTING THE PACE
Sophomore setter Nicole Johnson currently leads the Horizon League and ranks 12th in the NCAA with 11.42 assists per set. Her 959 total assists also rank her seventh in the NCAA heading into the weekend. There have been four individual performances with 58 assists in the Horizon League this season, and Johnson has turned in two of them by accomplishing the feat on Sept. 15 vs. Illinois State, and again at Northern Kentucky on Sept. 26; she is the only setter to rattle off that many helpers in only four sets.
Last season, Johnson was selected the 2014 Horizon League Freshman of the Year after ranking sixth with 11.67 assists per set. She was also an All-Horizon League Team selection. Johnson's 1,365 assists in 2014 ranked 14th nationally, and as the eighth highest in a single-season in program history. She led UIC with 26 service aces and contributed seven of UIC's 22 double-doubles. Johnson recorded 55 or more assists in seven matches. She compiled 227 digs with seven double-digit dig efforts.
UIC SWEEPS WEEKLY HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS TO OPEN LEAGUE PLAY
UIC junior middle blocker Casey Harris was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 28, while senior middle Stephenee Yancy picked up Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors. It is the first time ever that a pair of UIC teammates has swept the weekly awards.
Harris led UIC, and the Horizon League, with 1.38 blocks per set over the opening weekend. In the victory at NKU on Sept. 26, she sent down a season-high seven blocks. This is the first weekly honor of her career.
Yancy averaged a league-best 5.75 kills per set at Wright State and Northern Kentucky, while hitting at a clip of .500 (46k-9e-74ta). The senior matched a season high with 26 kills at NKU and she hit a career-best .629 against the Norse. This is the fifth weekly honor of Yancy's career and the first in 2015.
YANCY KEEPS KILLING IT
Senior middle blocker Stephenee Yancy continues to stand out as one of the top offensive threats in both the Horizon League and the NCAA. The Aroma Park, Ill., native leads the conference and ranks 13th in the country with 4.48 kills per set this season. She also ranks second in the league with a .371 hitting percentage. In eight HL matches, Yancy has been even sharper; the senior is averaging 4.87 kills per set at a clip of .378.
Yancy has put down 1,353 kills in three-plus collegiate seasons, including 884 as a UIC Flame. She spent her first two seasons at Western Michigan University, where she netted 469 kills for the Broncos.
RARE EHR
In only her second weekend as a member of the Flames, junior transfer Alyssa Ehrhardt made quite the splash at the UIC Invitational (Sept. 4-5). The Algonquin, Ill., native collected tournament MVP honors after averaging 3.6 kills and 2.5 digs per set in UIC's three wins. The transfer also added four aces, four blocks and a pair of assists while hitting at a clip of .338 on the weekend. On Sept. 8, the Horizon League tabbed Ehrhardt as the Offensive Player of the Week for Aug. 31-Sept. 7. She currently ranks sixth in the Horizon League with 0.32 aces per set.
JOHNSON ON PACE FOR 1,000 KILLS/1,000 DIGS
Junior outside hitter Kara Johnson has recorded 883 kills and 690 digs at UIC. She needs 117 kills and 310 digs over the next season and a half to become the 10th player in program history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. The last UIC player to join the 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club was Katarina Nedeljikovic in 2008 (1,381k/1,150d).
YANCY STARS WITH USA VOLLEYBALL
Stephenee Yancy made a good impression on her U.S. CNT (Collegiate National Team) Red squad by registering 14 points over two matches in late June. She trained and competed with USA Volleyball in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships.
Yancy was one of 36 athletes who began training with USA Volleyball in New Orleans. The CNT program was considered a second tryout for the U.S. Women's National Team.
POWELL POWERS UIC DEFENSE
Purdue transfer Bridget Powell (5-foot-6 defensive specialist) was also added to the roster in the offseason. Powell was a nationally-ranked libero at Mother McAuley High School. She appeared in six matches in 2013 at Purdue and made good on 98 percent of her serve reception chances. She saw action in the Boilermakers' NCAA First Round match against Central Arkansas. At UIC, she's registered a team-high 271 digs and ranks ninth in the Horizon League with 3.52 per set entering the weekend. Against Abilene Christian on Sept. 19, Powell dug out a career-best 20 attacks.
FIVE FRESHMEN JOIN THE FLAMES
Seventh-year head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley brought in five freshmen in Carla Salvato (5-foot-5 libero), Haley Sullivan (5-foot-3 libero), Ali Witt (6-foot-0 middle blocker), Macy Geyer (5-foot-11 setter) and Morgan Mereday (6-foot-0 outside hitter). Four of the five - Salvato, Sullivan, Witt and Mereday - have seen on-court action already this season.
Salvato was an All-conference pick at St. Ignatius College Prep and collected 600 digs. Sullivan was a three-year starter at Lemont High School and compiled 924 digs. Witt was a two-year starter at Prairie Ridge High School and a Sun-Times' Preseason Top 50 selection.
Geyer was a four-year starter for Hononegah Community and a three-time All-NIC-10 selection. Mereday was selected second-team All-State in 2014 and put down 263 kills at Hunterdon Central.
COACH CLOSES IN ON MILESTONE
UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley is closing in on a milestone in her seventh season at the helm. She owns 96 career victories entering the weekend and is seeking to become only the third head coach in program history to reach the century mark. Don August, who led the Flames from 1981-2003 is the program's all-time leader in victories with 421, while Mary Kapsalis is second with 132.
SCOUTING THE NORSE
The Norse posted a 3-5 record during their first spin through Horizon League play, and of their three wins came against the team currently in first place atop the standings, Cleveland State. In fact, NKU was the only team to defeat the Vikings during the first half of conference play, winning 3-2 on Oct. 13.
Northern Kentucky enters the weekend hitting .192 as a team on the season, while the opposition is averaging a clip of .224 against it. Three attackers are averaging at least 2.2 kills per set, including Haley Libs who leads NKU and ranks seventh in the Horizon League with 3.07 kills per set. Tristen Simpson led the team with 12 kills in the first tilt against UIC this season. Libs and Jayden Julian both added 11 terminations that afternoon.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State enters the weekend with an overall record of 12-11 and 1-7 mark in Horizon League play. The Raiders' first conference win of the season came in straight sets against Northern Kentucky on Oct. 6.
The team is hitting .202 collectively, good for fourth in the HL, and its opponents are hitting .195, ranking the Raiders third in the conference in that category. WSU also ranks second in the Horizon League in both kills (13.62) and assists (12.90) per set.
Katie Klusman is one of the most prolific attackers in the conference as she ranks third with 4.21 kills per set. In the first tilt against UIC in September, the sophomore put down a team-high 17 kills and added 10 digs to earn a double-double. Maddie Lohmeier handed out 40 assists that night and she currently ranks 15th nationally with 915 helpers this season.
