Oct. 29, 2015
| UIC at Oakland |
| Date: | Opponent: | Time: | Watch: | Follow: |
| Friday, Oct. 30 | at Oakland | 6 p.m. CT | N/A | GameTracker |
2015 UIC Statistics
2015 Horizon League Statistics 2015 UIC Prospectus
2015 UIC Record Book
CHICAGO -- UIC begins a series of four consecutive matches outside the familiar confines of the Flames Athletic Center Friday night when it visits the Oakland Golden Grizzlies for an important Horizon League contest at 6 p.m. CT.
Due to a quirk in the Horizon League schedule, Oakland has not played a match since defeating Green Bay, 3-1, on Oct. 21. The Golden Grizzlies have not played a home match since sweeping the Youngstown State Penguins at the Athletics Center O'rena on Oct. 10. OU currently sits in second place in the conference standings with a mark of 8-2. The Flames enter Friday's match in a tie for fifth place in the conference with five wins in Horizon League play.
UIC Match Notes
LAST TIME OUT
The Flames concluded a three-match homestand on Tuesday, Oct. 27 by hosting the Valparaiso Crusaders. Valpo hit .356 on the night with only 12 errors in a three-set victory. The Flames struggled to develop a consistent offensive rhythm as they were hampered by 17 attacking errors and four serving errors in the match.
Stephenee Yancy paced UIC with 15 kills Tuesday, but no other Flames collected more than six. The home team out-blocked Valpo, 6-5, but the Crusaders picked up nine more digs in the match. UIC's Haley Sullivan produced a career-high nine digs, while setter Nicole Johnson handed out a team-high 31 assists to go along with four digs and a pair of aces.
LAST TIME OUT...AGAINST OAKLAND
UIC began a five-match homestand on Saturday, Oct. 3 when it entertained defending Horizon League champion Oakland at the Flames Athletic Center. The Flames were unable to muster up enough home-court magic and the Golden Grizzlies hit .326 as a team in a 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-20) victory. UIC was hampered by an inconsistent offensive attack during the course of the match with 34 kills and 18 attacking errors on the afternoon.
UIC received eight kills from both Stephenee Yancy and Alyssa Ehrhardt, while Casey Harris chipped in with six at a clip of .308 (6k-2e-13ta). Yancy also added a team-high four blocks.
JOHNSON SETTING THE PACE
Sophomore setter Nicole Johnson currently leads the Horizon League and ranks 15th in the NCAA with 11.41 assists per set. Her 1,095 total assists also rank her second nationally entering the weekend, as well. There have been five individual performances with 58-or-more 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 in the league 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.
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 4.58 kills per set this season. Yancy also ranks third nationally with 485.0 total points this season. The captain also ranks second in the league with a .367 hitting percentage. In 11 Horizon League matches, Yancy has been even sharper; the senior is averaging 4.98 kills per set.
Yancy has put down 1,384 kills in three-plus collegiate seasons, including 915 as a UIC Flame. She spent her first two seasons at Western Michigan University, where she netted 469 kills for the Broncos.
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 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.
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 GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland finds itself ranked in the top two as a team in nearly every major statistical category charted by the Horizon League. In fact, the Golden Grizzlies rank second in kills per set (14.56), hitting percentage (.264), assists per set (13.89), aces per set (1.19), opponent hitting percentage (.185) and blocks per set (2.33). As a team, OU ranks in the top 40 nationally in both assists (36th) and kills (37th).
Individually, two Oakland players rank in the Horizon League's top 10 in kills per set. Melissa Deatsch, who collected 10 in the first meeting between the two teams this season, averages 3.07 per set. Cassie Pelloni, who adds 3.02 kills per set, netted nine on Oct. 3. Setter Ciara Schultz ranks fourth in the Horizon League with 10.51 assists per set, and 20th nationally with 967 helpers this season.
