CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Playing for a second time on the opening day of the 2016 NCAA Volleyball season, the UIC Flames (2-0) used a very balanced attack to down Southeast Missouri State (1-1) Friday night, 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-17).
 
UIC's lineup featured three players that registered at least 14 kills and six different players with six digs or more. Junior Kyisha Hunt posted a career-high 16 kills in the win over the Redhawks, doing so with an attacking percentage of .500 (16k-3e-28a). The Kankakee, Ill., native also matched a personal best with six digs.
 
Two players, Alyssa Ehrhardt and Kelsie Groot, notched double-doubles at the Show Me Center. After burying a career-high 27 kills in the season opener against Louisiana Tech Friday morning, Ehrhardt returned to post 16 kills and 15 digs in the nightcap. The Algonquin, Ill., native hit .368 with only two miscues in the second match of the day. Groot collected her second double-double in as many matches in a UIC uniform when she hung 14 kills on SEMO and added 13 digs.
 
UIC libero Kara Johnson was responsible for 14 digs Friday night, while sophomore transfer Gaia Gbola added nine as she played primarily in the back row in place of Hunt.
 
"I was anxious to see how we would respond against Southeast Missouri State after an emotional win earlier today," said UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. "I feel like we came out focused and ready to play from the start and that was great to see. We had contributions, both offensively and defensively, from a lot of different people. That was important for us because it's that kind of effort that we need to bring night in and night out all season long."
 
The Flames were seemingly clicking on all cylinders in the first set as the balance led to a come-from-behind 25-23 triumph. Groot notched seven kills, while Ehrhardt and Hunt clubbed five apiece. The team hit .311 in the first set with 18 kills and only four errors. Setter Nicole Johnson assisted on 17 of the 18 kills in the early going.
 
SEMO held an 18-14 lead in the frame, but following a timeout, UIC scored three consecutive points to pull within one. The Redhawks then called a timeout of their own, but a small 4-2 surge by the Flames gave them a 21-20 lead. Groot later set up game-point with her seventh kill before a bad set by the Redhawks handed UIC the early 1-0 edge in the match.
 
The sides were tied with 11 points apiece in the second set before four unanswered points by the Flames created some distance. Groot and Hunt each had a kill, while the former teamed with Casey Harris for a block, as well. SEMO came within two points as UIC led 19-17, but a kill from Ali Witt ignited another pivotal four-point surge. The visiting team would eventually take a 2-0 match lead to the locker room after posting a 25-19 victory in the second stanza.
 
UIC held a slim two-point lead late in the third set, 22-20, but the Redhawks rattled off three consecutive points to grab their first lead since it was 9-8. Schumacher-Cawley used her second timeout, but it was not enough to quell the surge and SEMO posted a 25-22 victory in the third frame to slice the deficit in half and extend the match to a fourth frame.
 
The scored was knotted at five in the early stages of the fourth game when a block from Harris and Nicole Johnson gave UIC a 6-5 lead, one that it would not relinquish. The lead later reached seven points after sophomore Haley Sullivan served up an ace, making it 18-11 in favor of the visitors. SEMO hung around before the Flames closed the night with consecutive kills from Ehrhardt, Hunt, Witt, and Hunt once again, capping a 25-17 set victory and 3-1 victory for the match.
 
The win was the 99^th in the tenure of Schumacher-Cawley, who began her eighth season at the helm Friday. The Flames are 2-0 to begin the season for the second time under the Chicago native, and the first time since 2011. That year UIC began the year with four wins against Nebraska-Omaha, Bradley, Western Illinois and DePaul.
 
UIC will wrap up its trip to the Show Me State and the Redhawks Invitational on Saturday morning when it takes on the New Orleans Privateers (1-1) at 11 a.m. UNO dropped its season-opening match to SEMO, 3-1, before rebounding with a 3-1 victory over Louisiana Tech.