Sept. 17, 2015
| UIC Flames at 2015 Denver Invitational (Denver, Colo.) |
| Date: | Opponent: | Time: | Follow: |
| Friday, Sept. 18 | at Denver | 8 p.m. CDT | GameTracker |
| Saturday, Sept. 19 | vs. Abilene Christian | 11 a.m. CDT | GameTracker |
| | vs. Montana | 6 p.m. CDT | |
2015 UIC Statistics
2015 Horizon League Statistics 2015 UIC Prospectus
2015 UIC Record Book
CHICAGO -- UIC begins a six-match stint away from the Flames Athletic Center this weekend with three contests in the Centennial State at the Denver Invitational beginning Friday, Sept. 18. All three matches will be played at Hamilton Gymnasium on the University of Denver campus.
The Flames open the two-day tournament against the hosts, the Denver Pioneers, at 8 p.m. CT on Friday. The two squads have met twice previously, most recently in 2013 when Denver visited the Windy City for the UIC Invitational.
The Pioneers are 8-3 on the young season after splitting four matches last weekend at the Borderland Classic in Las Cruces, N.M. Offensively, the Pioneers have a balanced attack with seven players contributing at least 1.2 kills per set. Sophomore Kayla Principato leads the team with 126 kills this season. On the defensive side, middle blocker Sarah Schmid ranks amongst the nation's best blockers. The senior currently ranks eighth in the NCAA with 56 total blocks. In the back row, defensive specialist Cassidy Rooke has accumulated 198 digs, ranking 20th in the country in that category.
UIC has two matches on tap for Saturday, Sept. 19, both against squads that it will be facing for the very first time. The day begins with a showdown against Abilene Christian at 11 a.m. CT and concludes with a match versus Montana at 6 p.m. CT.
Abilene Christian is in the midst of reclassifying to NCAA Division I and the Wildcats are in search of their first win of the season. ACU's Jennifer Loerch has put down a team-high 3.44 kills per set, while setter Sarah Siemens has handed out 8.44 assists per set. Madison Hoover paces the squad with 4.25 digs per set. Before tangling with UIC, the Wildcats open the tournament against Montana on Friday at 5 p.m. CT.
The Montana Grizzlies opened the 2015 season with back-to-back wins against Air Force and Northeastern, but since the team has dropped seven consecutive decisions. Senior Hannah Sackett has carried the offensive load for the Grizzlies as she's averaged 3.43 kills per set. Sadie Ahearn has netted 3.44 digs per set, while Capri Richardson has posted 26 total blocks in nine matches.
UIC Match Notes
LAST TIME OUT
Facing its second Missouri Valley Conference foe in as many matches, the Flames found themselves down two sets to none against the Illinois State Redbirds on Tuesday, Sept. 15. UIC roared back to win the third set, 25-23, before dropping an extended fourth frame, 29-27. Both Kara Johnson and Stephenee Yancy recorded a match-high 17 kills, while the former led the Flames with 18 digs to register her first double-double of the season. Newcomer Alyssa Ehrhardt put down 13 kills and 15 digs for her fourth double-double in a UIC uniform.
RARE EHR
In only her second weekend as a member of the Flames, junior Alyssa Ehrhardt made quite the splash at the UIC Invitational (Sept. 4-5). The Algonquin, Ill., native collected tournament MVP honors after averaging 3.6 kills and 2.5 digs per set in UIC's three wins. The transfer also added four aces, four blocks and a pair of assists while hitting at a clip of .338 on the weekend. On Sept. 8, the Horizon League tabbed Ehrhardt as the Offensive Player of the Week for Aug. 31-Sept. 7.
YANCY AMONGST LEAGUE'S BEST
Stephenee Yancy (Sr., MB) ranks second in the Horizon League in kills with 3.95 per set, third in the conference with a .358 attack percentage and fifth in blocks (0.92 per set) through Sept. 15. Chosen as the 2015 Preseason Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year, Yancy recorded 20-plus kills in consecutive matches on Aug. 29 vs. IPFW and Central Michigan. In the win against the Mastadons, she hit .528 on 36 attempts and added a season-high five blocks.
In 2014, Yancy was named Horizon League Co-Player of the Year after ranking 24th nationally with 512 kills. She also ranked 20th nationally in kills per set (4.38) and 56th in attack percentage (.358). Yancy, who received AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region honors, became the fifth player in program history to put down 500 kills in a single season. Her .358 attack percentage broke the single-season program record.
YANCY SHINES 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.
JOHNSON SETTING THE PACE
Sophomore setter Nicole Johnson currently leads the Horizon League with 11.18 assists per set. Her 436 total assists rank her 17th in the NCAA heading into the weekend. Her 58 assists against Illinois State on Sept. 15 marked the highest output for any Horizon League player this season.
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.
JOHNSON ON PACE FOR 1,000 KILLS/1,000 DIGS
Junior outside hitter Kara Johnson has recorded 778 kills and 599 digs at UIC. She needs 222 kills and 401 digs over the next two seasons to become the 10th player in program history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. The last UIC player to join the 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club was Katarina Nedeljikovic in 2008 (1,381k/1,150d).
POWELL POWERS UIC DEFENSE
Purdue transfer Bridget Powell (5-foot-6 defensive specialist) was also added to the roster in the offseason. Powell was a nationally-ranked libero at Mother McAuley High School. She appeared in six matches in 2013 at Purdue and made good on 98 percent of her serve reception chances. She saw action in the Boilermakers' NCAA First Round match against Central Arkansas. At UIC, she's registered a team-high 133 digs and ranks eighth in the Horizon League with 3.41 per set. Against Northern Iowa on Sept. 12, Powell dug out a career-best 19 attacks.
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).
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 90 career victories entering the Butler All-American Classic 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.
