Nov. 2, 2015
| UIC at DePaul |
| Date: | Opponent: | Time: | Watch: | Follow: |
| Tuesday, Nov. 3 | at DePaul | 7 p.m. CT | Watch Live | |
2015 UIC Statistics
2015 Horizon League Statistics 2015 UIC Prospectus
2015 UIC Record Book
CHICAGO -- UIC will step out of Horizon League play one final time in 2015 as it takes the short trip to Lincoln Park and McGrath-Phillips Arena to take on the DePaul Blue Demons in a crosstown nonconference clash Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Tuesday's match is the latest in the season that UIC and DePaul have hooked up since Nov. 4, 1998 when the Flames won 3-2 on their home court. That was also the last year in series history that teams squared off twice. The Flames have controlled the series for the last decade-plus, however. UIC has won 10 of the last 11 contests against DePaul since 2004 and from 2004 until 2012, the Flames won eight consecutive matches against the Blue Demons. UIC leads the all-time series, 24-16.
UIC Match Notes
LAST TIME OUT
The Flames began a four-match road trip on Friday, Oct. 30 with a stop in Rochester, Mich., where they took on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. The Golden Grizzlies used 41 kills and nine blocks to defeat the Flames, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-16). UIC was hindered by 22 attacking errors, including 13 unforced miscues.
Stephenee Yancy of the Flames led all players with 15 kills last Friday night, however no one else picked up more than five. On the other side of the net four Oakland players registered at least six kills in the match, including Cassie Pelloni who led the Golden Grizzlies with 12.
LAST TIME OUT...AGAINST DEPAUL
Stephenee Yancy put down a career-high 27 kills and UIC defeated crosstown rival DePaul by a score of 3-1 (25-13, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20) inside the Jacoby Dickens Center on Sept. 6, 2014.
The match was part of Chicago State's Windy City Invitational, in which the Flames finished second. Yancy was named to the All-Tournament Team after 57 kills on 99 attempts for a .404 attack percentage and 11 total blocks. She extended her double-digit kill streak to six matches and averaged 19 kills per match during the tournament.
JOHNSON SETTING THE PACE
Sophomore setter Nicole Johnson currently leads the Horizon League and ranks 17th in the NCAA with 11.33 assists per set. Her 1,122 total assists also rank her eighth nationally entering the week, as well. Johnson has turned in two 58-assist performances this season by accomplishing the feat on Sept. 15 vs. Illinois State, and again at Northern Kentucky on Sept. 26. Both of those were four-set matches.
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 12th in the country with 4.59 kills per set this season. Yancy also ranks seventh nationally with 501.5 total points this season. The captain also ranks first in the league with a .364 hitting percentage. In 12 Horizon League matches, Yancy has been even sharper; the senior is averaging 4.98 kills per set.
Yancy has put down 1,399 kills in three-plus collegiate seasons, including 930 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 week, 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 BLUE DEMONS
DePaul enters the week with a 13-11 overall record this season, but after a sizzling start, the Blue Demons dropped eight of the nine matches they played in October.
Four DePaul players are averaging at least 2.06 kills per set, including freshman Brittany Maxwell, who leads the squad with 2.74 kills per set this season. The Macomb, Mich., native has played in every set but one this fall, and she also ranks second on the team with 0.66 blocks per set.
DePaul head coach Nadia Edwards played collegiately at Penn State alongside UIC's Katie Schumacher-Cawley. The pair helped lead the Nittany Lions to a national championship in 1999.
