Box Score Sept. 29, 2015 Box Score
VALPARAISO, Ind. -- UIC was unable to overcome a sharp Valparaiso attack and the Flames fell for the first time in Horizon League play Tuesday, losing to the Crusaders, 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-20, 25-15), at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
Valpo hit .338 in the match with only 11 errors on 151 attempts. On the other side, UIC hit .191 with 23 miscues. The Flames ranked among the Horizon League's leaders in blocks after the opening weekend, but they managed only five Tuesday night.
Valpo got off to a quick 5-1 lead in the first set Tuesday night, but UIC responded with a 5-1 run with a kill from Stephenee Yancy and a pair from Kara Johnson to pull within a point. The Flames later trailed by three, 12-9, but back-to-back kills from Yancy made it a one-point affair once again. A 5-0 run for the Crusaders followed and the home team gained a 17-11 lead. Another kill from Johnson got the Flames as close as three points, but they could not completely close the gap and Valpo hung on for a 25-18 win in set one.
Yancy finished with seven kills in the first set, but she hit only .214 in the game. Valpo's Emily Campbell notched five first-set kills and she helped the Crusaders hit .350 without an error as a squad. UIC committed seven attacking errors and added two more from the service line in the first frame.
The Flames got behind early in the second stanza, but they used a six-point run to grab an 11-8 lead, their first advantage of the night. Yancy had three kills in the surge, while Ehrhardt added an ace and a kill of her own. Valpo head coach Carin Avery called a timeout, but UIC scored the next two out of the stoppage to push the lead to five points.
The Crusaders were eventually able to tie the match at 21-21, but Kara Johnson scored off a pass from Yancy to get the Flames back on top. The two sides traded points until Valpo scored two in a row to make 24-23 with the first shot to finish the set. Johnson delivered again after a UIC timeout to even the score before Ehrhardt found space to score to make it 25-24 in favor of the Flames. Valparaiso called its final timeout, then tied the score, but back-to-back kills from Kyisha Hunt and Yancy gave the visitors a 27-25 victory, evening the match at a set apiece.
UIC played a much cleaner set in the second as it hit .351 with 17 kills and only four attacking errors. Valpo committed six hitting miscues in the second after a flawless first.
The Flames found themselves playing from behind for the most part in the third set. The Crusaders had a late 22-16, but UIC had one more surge left in it. The Flames scored four unanswered with a kill down the line by Hunt and two thundering blasts from Yancy, plus an overpass that found the ground, to pull to within two points. Valparaiso settled, however, and scored three in a row to take the set, 25-20.
UIC secured a quick 4-1 lead in the fourth set, but Valparasio went on a 11-point run to take the lead back once and for all. The Flames continued to fight, but the eight-point deficit was too much to overcome on this night. The home won the set, 25-15, to claim the match, 3-1.
Yancy led UIC with 20 kills, hitting .267 on the night. Kara Johnson had 11 kills at a clip of .333, and the junior tied for the team lead with 18 digs. Alyssa Ehrhardt also converted her team-high sixth double-double thanks to 10 kills and 11 digs. Bridget Powell also chipped in with 18 digs for the Flames.
Tuesday's match concluded a six-match road trip for UIC and the squad will finally return home to the Flames Athletic Center for its next match on Saturday, October 3. UIC will host the defending Horizon League champions, Oakland, at 4 p.m.
