CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (12-8, 0-6 HL) will close out its five-game road strretch this weekend as they face Youngstown State (7-14, 1-6 HL) on Friday at 5 p.m. CT and Northern Kentucky (10-8, 4-3 HL) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
Last Time Out:
The Flames hit the road last weekend, facing Oakland and Cleveland State. Against the Golden Grizzlies this past Friday, UIC fought hard despite a 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 18-25, 29-27, 9-15) loss. The flames came back from an 18-11 deficit in game four to take the set and force a decisive set. UIC fell 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 12-25) the following afternoon to Cleveland State.

Hot Start:
UIC has had an historic start to the 2016 season, and was undefeated heading into the UIC Invitational on Sept. 16. The Flames recorded their best start in program history with their eighth victory, a 3-2 decision over South Florida on Sept. 10. The win set UIC at 8-0 on the season, replacing the 1984 squad's record of seven season-opening wins. The Flames then went on to win two more (at DePaul and at Loyola), matching the longest win streak in program history. The 2016 team was also the first team to put together ten-straight victories in 30 years.

Road Warriors:
The 2016 Flames are the first team to take at least 11 road matches in one season since the 1993 squad, who finished the season at 19-13 with 14 road victories as members of the Mid-Continent Conference. The 1984 squad currently owns the record for most road victories with 21, and closed out the season with 30 wins, the most in program history. UIC will look to get back to its winning ways on the road this weekend after dropping the past three road matches.

Striking Sophomore:
Sophomore Ali Witt has added her name to the UIC record books with an historic start of her own. The Crystal Lake, Ill., native earned the fifth-highest single-match hitting percentage in program history against UMass Lowell on Sept. 17 at .786 (11k-0e-14a). The mark is the highest of Witt's career and replaces her previously-set career-high mark against USF (Sept. 10), when she hit for a clip of .750 to tie the seventh-highest hitting percentage in program history. Witt recorded a mere 3 errors against Oakland and was error-free against Cleveland State this past weekend. The middle blocker owns the highest hitting percentage on the team at .324 (127k-38e-275a), has hit .500 or above on six separate occasions this season and leads the team in total blocks (65).

Senior Superlative:
Ehrhardt has had an impressive start to the 2016 season including most valuable player honors at both the Redhawks Invitational and the DePaul Invitational. The Algonquin, Ill., native ranks second on the team in kills, averaging 3.51 per set. Ehrhardt owns an attack percentage of .229 (274k-101e-786a) on the season and has also collected 194 digs and a team-high 28 service aces thus far.

Double Trouble:
Groot has made a name of herself quickly in her first season wearing a Flames jersey by collecting a team-high 14 double-doubles after adding a double-double at Oakland this past weekend. The Irvine, Calif., native now owns the top spot on the team in kills with an average of 3.55 per set and is hitting at a clip of .229 (277k-87e-829a) on the season. Defensively, the outside hitter also ranks second on the team in digs with 2.49 digs per set and has collected 42 total blocks thus far.
 
Feeling Great About .408:
As a team, UIC hit .408 on Aug. 27 against New Orleans in the finale of the Redhawks Invitational. The Flames buried an average of 16.7 kills per set against the Privateers, while committing only 2.67 attacking errors per game. The percentage is the sixth-best single-match mark in team history, and the best number since UIC hit .435 against Chicago State on Sept. 8, 1999. Hunt (.643) posted an individual career high against UNO, while Witt led the Flames in victory with a career-high 11 kills.

Horizon Hardware:
UIC has earned its second Horizon League accolade in as many weeks, as Kara Johnson recorded her first-career Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week award on Sept. 6. The Champaign, Ill., native registered a team-high 44 digs at the JAX Classic and paced the Flames in that category against all three opponents. In her first season wearing the libero jersey, Johnson currently sits sixth across the Horizon League with a team-high 235 total digs and average of 3.73 digs per set. She was also a member of the All-Tournament team at the Redhawks Invitational.  

Ehrhardt was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 29, following a sensational effort at the Redhawks Invitational. The Algonquin, Ill., native averaged 4.42 kills, 2.25 digs and 0.67 aces per set for the Flames in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Among her weekend highlights include a career-best 27 kills, while hitting .306, in the season opener against LA Tech, and her first double-double of the season behind 16 kills and 15 digs in the nightcap against SEMO. This was Ehrhardt's second weekly honor from the Horizon League (Sept. 8, 2015).
 
More Fantastic Flames:
Groot represented the Flames on the UIC Invitational All-Tournament team Sept. 16-17, registering a team-high 29 kills on the weekend to average 2.90 kills per set. The Irvine, Calif., native also brought in 24 digs and four total blocks through 10 sets.

Ehrhardt grabbed the most valuable player title at the DePaul Invitational Sept. 9-10, where she collected 53 kills to average 3.79 kills per set. The outside hitter also registered 22 digs and seven service aces. Ehrhardt led the Flames in kills in two of the three matches, including a tournament-high 24 in UIC's match against South Florida. Witt joined Ehrhardt on the All-Tournament team, hitting at a clip of .487 while committing only two errors across the weekend's 14 sets.
 
Earlier this season, Groot was named the most valuable player of the JAX Classic on Sept. 3. Hunt and Ehrhardt were also named to the All-Tournament team for their performances. Both Groot and Ehrhardt closed out the tournament with 40 kills to average 3.64 per set. Groot hit .305 on the weekend, and .371 for the Flames' final two victories on Sept. 3. Ehrhardt led UIC with five service aces, while also averaging 3.36 digs per set. Hunt averaged 3.55 kills per set and recorded four blocks on the weekend.

Ehrhardt and Johnson were joined on the Redhawks Invitational All-Tournament Team by Groot. The Irvine, Calif., native delivered double-doubles in UIC's first two matches, while falling one kill and two digs shy in the sweep over New Orleans in the finale. She averaged 3.58 kills and 2.58 digs during the tournament. Johnson donned the libero jersey for the first time in her collegiate career against Louisiana Tech, and she posted a career-high 25 digs in the match. The Champaign, Ill., native averaged 3.67 digs per set in her first weekend at the position.
 
Where We Rank:
Across the Horizon League, UIC continues to rank second in the league in kills (13.01 per set), assists (12.17 per set) and hitting percentage (.226). Individually, Groot ranks second in the Conference in kills with 3.55 per set, followed closely by Ehrhardt in third with 3.51 per set. Ehrhardt is also third in the League in service aces (.40 per set), while UIC setter Nicole Johnson owns the top spot in the Horizon League in assists with 10.65 per set. Additionally, Witt comes in at third in the Horizon League in hitting percentage (.324).
 
Congrats, Coach:
UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley reached a milestone with the team's win over New Orleans to close out the Redhawks Invitational on Aug. 27. The Chicago native entered the season with 97 career victories and the triumph over the Privateers marked win No. 100. Schumacher-Cawley, who now owns 109 victories, ranks third all-time in victories by a UIC head volleyball coach behind 23-year bench boss Don August, and the first head coach in program history, Mary Kapsalis.

About Youngstown State
Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky faced off Wednesday evening, with NKU earning the 3-0 victory. As a team, YSU ranks second in the league in service aces, averaging 1.59 per set. Senior setter Val Jeffery sits second individually in the Conference in service aces, averaging 0.36 per set. Fellow senior Lori Vanbeek sits fifth in the Horizon League in kills with 3.39 per set, and also ranks sixth in hitting percentage (.299). The Flames are 28-11 all-time against the Penguins, splitting last season's two matches at one apiece.

About Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky currently sits in the middle of the conference rankings in fifth, following its 3-0 victory over YSU Wednesday night. As a team, NKU is fourth in hitting percentage (.205), kills (12.63 per set) and assists (11.72 per set). The Norse also rank third in the Horizon League in service aces, averaging 1.31 per set. Redshirt senior Lauren Hurley is third in the League in digs (4.81 per set), while senior Keely Creamer is seventh in both kills (3.08 per set) and hitting percentage (.298). UIC faced NKU for the first time in history last season following the addition of Northern Kentucky to the Horizon League. The Flames defeated the Norse 3-1 on the road, but fell 3-1 on their own turf.