Box Score Sept. 15, 2015
CHICAGO -- After dropping the first two sets Tuesday, UIC roared back to claim the third, and nearly the fourth, but the Flames were subdued by the visiting Illinois State Redbirds at the Flames Athletic Center, 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 29-27).
The Redbirds controlled the first and second sets for the most part as those frames featured only one tie score (in the first) and no lead changes. The third and fourth frames followed a much different blueprint, however, with 15 ties and seven lead changes throughout the two games.
Fast forwarding to the third stanza, back-to-back-to-back aces off the strong right-handed serve of Alyssa Ehrhardt gave the Flames an early 8-6 advantage in the third set. UIC kept pushing the pace and eventually grabbed an 11-7 lead after Harris hammered back-to-back kills, prompting ISU to burn a timeout. The Flames maintained a lead, 17-14, but the Redbirds rallied to even the ledger with three consecutive scores of their own.
The instate foes traded points before Illinois State went back on top, 19-18. UIC's Kara Johnson scored off the block to make it a tie game, but Ashley Rosch was quick with an answer. UIC later led 22-21 after an ISU error and a monster solo block by Harris. Illinois State called its final timeout at that point. The Redbirds won a rally to tie the score and UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley used her second timeout of the stanza.
Ehrhardt delivered after the break to put UIC ahead 23-22, but Illinois State answered right back to even things up. Senior Stephenee Yancy set up a set-point opportunity with a thundering kill before Ehrhardt scored off the block to grab a 25-23 triumph for the home team.
Similar to the second set, Illinois State grabbed a quick 5-1 lead in the fourth, but Kyisha Hunt ended the run with a big swing of her left arm to get the Flames back to within three. UIC remained within striking distance throughout and back-to-back scores by Johnson made it a one-point set with the Flames down 17-16. Shortly thereafter, with a 19-18 lead, the Redbirds scored two of the next three points in the match to cause Schumacher-Cawley to use a timeout.
The score was 22-21 in favor of ISU after an attacking error on Rosch. The Redbirds called their first timeout, but Ehrhardt powered down a kill to tie the game and Hunt gave the Flames a 23-22 lead with her 11th kill of the match. A service error gave the ball back to ISU.
The set was far from over, however, and the teams would go to extra points. UIC led 26-25 after another Ehrhardt flush, but ISU scored two in a row to regain the advantage. Yancy made it 27-27 with her 17th kill of the night, but the Redbirds got a block then a kill from Jaelyn Keene to earn a hard-fought 29-27 win in the set and a 3-1 win for the match.
Earlier in the match, the visitors came in and took control of the first set early building a 7-4 lead on the strength of a couple of kills off the arm of Rosch. A block from UIC's Casey Harris and Hunt before a kill by Kara Johnson helped the Flames the deficit to a pair of points, 12-10. Illinois State eventually pushed the advantage to seven points at 18-11 before the home team cut in once again.
It was 19-15, ISU, following a kill, then a block from Yancy, but the Redbirds steady attack was able to push the lead back to six points at 21-15. Then the Flames found another gear. Down 22-17, UIC scored three unanswered tallies to inch back to within two and force ISU to call a timeout. Both Nicole Johnson and Kara Johnson had a kill during the run, and the Flames were aided by an ISU attacking error. The Redbirds scored a kill from Rosch out of the stoppage before Kara Johnson terminated another ball to regain the momentum.
Harris appeared to notch a kill to make it a one-point affair, but she was ruled to be over the net, giving Illinois State a 24-21 lead. Rosch then collected her team's first ace of the evening to seal a 25-21 triumph.
Kara Johnson led UIC with six kills in the first game, while Yancy added four of her own, plus two blocks.
Illinois State claimed the first five points of the second set before a solo block by Harris quelled the surge and got the Flames on the scoreboard. UIC trailed by as many as six points in the early going, but the squad was able to get back to within two, at 9-7, thanks to a 4-1 run that was punctuated on another kill from Yancy.
The two sides traded brief runs and the Flames found themselves down by one, 17-16, after back-to-back kills from Ehrhardt and Kara Johnson. The home team fell victim to a 6-1 run that prompted UIC to call a timeout. Kara Johnson scored for the Flames out of the timeout before a net violation on the Redbirds made it a two-point deficit for UIC. Illinois State was able to net the next three points, however, to collect a 25-20 win.
Both Yancy and Kara Johnson finished with a match-high 17 kills. Johnson also added a team-best 18 digs. For Johnson, the effort marked a season-high in kills and her first double-double of the season. Ehrhardt etched her fourth double-double thanks to 13 kills and 15 digs. Defensively, libero Bridget Powell and defensive specialist Tracy Friel both stood tall in the back row with 15 and 10 digs, respectively. UIC collected a season-high 78 digs as a team Tuesday night, 14 more than their next-highest output which came in a five-set win over Northern Iowa on Sept. 12.
The Flames will embark on a six-match road trip beginning Friday, Sept. 18 in Denver, Colo. UIC will participate in the Denver Invitational and battle the host Pioneers at 8 p.m. CT before turning around to play against Abilene Christian (11 a.m.) and Montana (6 p.m.) on Saturday. Schumacher-Cawley's squad will open Horizon League play with three straight road contests beginning Sept. 25 before returning to the Flames Athletic Center on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 4 p.m.
