Nov. 5, 2015
2015 UIC Statistics
2015 Horizon League Statistics 2015 UIC Prospectus
2015 UIC Record Book
CHICAGO -- UIC will make its final road trip of the 2015 regular season this weekend as it visits the Milwaukee Panthers, Friday, and the Green Bay Phoenix, Saturday, for Horizon League matches in America's Dairyland.
UIC hosted both rivals from the north at the Flames Athletic Center last month. The home team was tripped up by Green Bay on Oct. 9, but the Flames bounced back to defeat the Milwaukee Panthers in a five-set battle on Oct. 10. The three teams are tightly bunched in the Horizon League standings entering the final two weekends of play. Green Bay is currently in fifth place with a record of 6-7 in league play, while the Flames are just behind at 5-7. Milwaukee is 5-8 with three matches to play.
UIC Match Notes
LAST TIME OUT
The Flames made the short trip across town to face the DePaul Blue Demons in their final nonconference match of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Blue Demons hit .382 as a team on the night, while holding the Flames to a mark of .144, as they worked their way toward a 3-0 victory.
Senior Stephenee Yancy led UIC with 11 kills in the match Tuesday, while freshman Morgan Mereday finished with nine. Senior defensive specialist Tracy Friel led the Flames with nine digs at DePaul.
LAST TIME OUT...AGAINST MILWAUKEE
UIC needed a decisive fifth set, but the Flames were able to outlast the visiting Milwaukee Panthers on Oct. 10, 3-2 (25-20, 25-18, 21-25, 22-25, 15-11).
UIC got out to a 6-3 lead in the fifth set, thanks to three kills from Stephenee Yancy. The Flames continued to double up the Panthers, 8-4, as the teams changed ends. The lead grew to as many as five points before Milwaukee made another later surge; they got to within two, but the home team persisted and prevailed with a 15-11 victory.
Yancy led the charge with 24 kills for the Flames, while Kyisha Hunt also hammered down 11 in the winning effort. Nicole Johnson handed out 52 assists, and libero Bridget Powell added 15 digs.
LAST TIME OUT...AGAINST GREEN BAY
UIC could not contain a balanced Green Bay attack Friday night and the Phoenix escaped the Flames Athletic Center with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-20) victory.
UIC's Stephenee Yancy led all players with 16 kills, and she hit .407 (16k-5e-27ta), but it was not enough as the rest of the squad combined to notch only 23 kills on 73 attempts with 17 errors. Green Bay, meanwhile, hit an eye-popping .370 as a team with only nine errors in a three-set win. The Phoenix boasted five players with at least six kills apiece in the match.
JOHNSON SETTING THE PACE
Sophomore setter Nicole Johnson led the Horizon League and ranked 17th in the NCAA with 11.33 assists per set entering the week. Her 1,122 total assists also rank her eighth nationally entering the week, as well. The Eagan, Minn., native handed out 23 helpers Tuesday at DePaul.
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 entered the week leading the conference and ranked 12th in the country with 4.59 kills per set this season. Yancy also ranked 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 1,410 kills in three-plus collegiate seasons, including 941 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.
