Box Score Nov. 3, 2015
CHICAGO -- For only the second time in the last 12 meetings the UIC Flames fell to the DePaul Blue Demons Tuesday night, falling 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-19) at McGrath-Phillips Arena in Lincoln Park.
The Flames fell behind early and trailed by as many as eight points in the first set. Down 14-6, the visitors unleashed a 9-2 run that sliced the significant deficit to a single point. After a back-row kill by Tracy Friel that tightened the ledger, however, DePaul went on a four-point run that put it ahead to stay. The Blue Demons won the frame, 25-19. The home team hit .429 with 14 kills and only two miscues in the first game.
Nicole Johnson led the Flames in both assists (8) and kills (4) in the opening stanza. Friel and freshman Carla Salvato led UIC with three kills apiece.
The Flames avoided a sluggish start in the second set and built leads of 4-1 and 9-6 in the early going. After UIC's Morgan Mereday buried a kill down the line to gain the latter advantage DePaul called a timeout. The stoppage helped the Blue Demons gain an 11-10 lead, their first of the set. The two sides went back-and-forth until a 7-0 run for DePaul gave it a 19-13 lead, and it would never again trail in the frame. The home team claimed a 25-15 victory to take a 2-0 lead for the match.
Stephenee Yancy led UIC with four kills in the second set, while Salvato added four more digs. Mereday and Casey Harris each chipped in with three kills in the second set for the Flames.
A block by Angela Evans in the third game gave UIC an 8-7, but later after grabbing a 10-9 lead, the Blue Demons would never again trail. The Blue Demons eventually finished off a 25-19 third-set victory to collect a three-set victory.
Yancy led UIC with 11 kills in the match, while Mereday finished with nine. Friel led the Flames with nine digs Tuesday.
The Flames will swing through Wisconsin this weekend with stops at Milwaukee on Friday, Nov. 6 and Green Bay on Saturday, Nov. 7. Friday's tilt in Milwaukee will begin at 7 p.m. at the Klotsche Center. The match against the Phoenix on Saturday is the final road match of the regular season.
