CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team will once again hit the road this weekend, to begin its second half of Horizon League action. The Flames will head east, traveling to Cleveland State (12-7, 5-3 HL) for a dual on Friday at 5 p.m. CT, before wrapping up their weekend in Ohio with Youngstown State (7-15, 0-8 HL) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
LOOKING BACK
UIC fell in both of its home contests last weekend, dropping a 3-0 loss to the top team in the Horizon League, Oakland, on Friday (Oct. 13), and narrowly missing IUPUI with a 3-2 loss on Saturday (Oct. 14). The Flames recorded a season-high 93 digs as a team on Saturday against the Jaguars, despite the setback.

Both Manuela Conte and Nicole Johnson notched double-doubles on Saturday versus the Jaguars, as Conte recorded a career-high 17 terminations alongside 16 digs, while Johnson earned her third double-double of the season with 14 digs and 54 assists. Additionally, Alexandra Drosopoulou tabbed two season high marks on Saturday with 14 kills and three service aces.

WHERE WE RANK
The Flames sit in a tie for fifth in the Horizon League overall standings, owning a 4-4 Conference record to match Northern Kentucky. UIC is also fifth in the League in hitting percentage, converting at a clip of .211 as a team. The Flames are second in service aces, with a 1.32 per set average, and are also third in both kills (13.62 per set) and assists (12.91 per set). Defensively, UIC is fourth in the Horizon League in digs with a 16.28 per set average.

Individually, Ali Witt leads the Flames with a .324 hitting percentage, which ranks her fourth in the League. Sarah Daneliak also makes the top ten in eighth with a clip of .284.

NEW FACES
The UIC roster boasts seven newcomers, all of which are freshmen. The group includes libero Andrea Aviles, outside hitters Alexandra Drosopoulou, Brecken Roe, Kiera James and Manuela Conte, opposite Alexandria Hicks and setter Kaliegh Skopal. Conte is a redshirt freshman after attending Oklahoma in 2016-17, however she did not appear in a match for the Sooners, retaining four seasons of eligibility. Six of the seven newcomers have appeared in a match this season with James as the lone exception.

SETTING FOR SUCCESS
Utilizing two primary setters, UIC ranks third in the Horizon League with 12.91 assists per set this season. The two Flames who spread the ball around, true freshman Kaliegh Skopal and fifth-year senior Nicole Johnson, each rank in the top 10 in the conference in assists. Johnson is eighth with 6.39 assists per set entering the weekend, while Skopal follows in ninth with 5.45.

INGRAM IS IN
UIC head coach Justin Ingram is in his first season at the helm for the Flames. He arrived in Chicago following a very successful five-year stint at Southern Illinois in which he guided the Salukis to 101 victories and the program's first NCAA Tournament bid in 2015. Ingram, the seventh head coach in program history, is a two-time conference Coach of the Year after capturing the award in 2015 at SIU and 2011 at Arkansas State. He graduated from Iowa State in 1995 and received a master's degree from Cal Poly in 1998.
  
CONTE'S CONNECTIONS
Manuela Conte, of Bologna, Italy, has a deep family history in volleyball. Her father, Hugo, is a member of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame after he appeared in the Olympic Games three times for his native Argentina. Hugo was a member of the 1984, 1988 and 2000 contingents and he helped the country capture a bronze medal in volleyball in 1988. Conte's brother, Facundo, competed for Team Argentina at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janiero and he also plays professionally in China.

Conte ranks second on the Flames and eighth in the Horizon League with 3.91 digs per set through UIC's 21 matches. She also leads UIC with 26 service aces this season, ranking her fourth in the Conference with a 0.32 per set average. The freshman also leads the Flames with six double-doubles this season, including her most recent double-digit kill and double-digit dig performance on Saturday against IUPUI.

HUNTING SEASON
Kyisha Hunt has been UIC's most prolific attacker this season. The Kankakee, Ill., native averaged 3.75 kills per set last weekend against Oakland and IUPUI, including a 22 kill performance against IUPUI for the second-highest mark of her career. The senior leads the squad with 3.68 kills per set, which ranks third in the Horizon League. Hunt is also third on the Flames in hitting percentage, as she's converted at a clip of .250. Hunt was crowned most valuable player at the CEFCU Classic and also represented the Flames on the Cougar Invitational All-Tournament team earlier this season.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
UIC's 2017 roster features four international standouts. Manuela Conte and junior Gaia Gbola are from Italy, coming from Bologna and Ravenna, respectively. Alexandra Drosopulou came to Chicago by way of Thessaloniki, Greece. Andrea Aviles' hometown is San Juan, Puerto Rico.

CLOSER TO HOME
Carla Salvato was named Horizon League Player of the week on Sept. 11 following a stellar performance at the CEFCU Classic. The junior registered a career-high 31 digs on Sept. 8 against Bradley, which was only the 15^th time in program history that a UIC player recorded 30 plus digs in a match. Salvato dug out 10 in the sweep of Murray State (Sept. 9), and closed out the CEFCU Classic with a match-high 28 digs in the finale against Bradley on Sept. 9. The libero earned a spot on the CEFCU Classic's All-Tournament team, averaging 5.75 digs per set in the tournament, and sits fourth in the Horizon League with 4.44 digs per set this season. Salvato is not just one of the Flames' Chicago natives, but she attended high school right down the street from UIC's urban campus. Salvato attended nearby Saint Ignatius College Prep, which is just west of the Flames Athletic Center. 
 
HAMPTON'S HEROES
Two UIC standouts, junior Alit Witt and redshirt freshman Manuela Conte, were named to the Hampton Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team. Witt averaged 2.42 kills per set while hitting a team-best .323 from her post in the middle. She also added nine blocks in three matches. Perhaps her biggest block of the weekend came as UIC mounted a furious third-set rally in the finale against Duquesne. The Flames trailed the game 17-12 at one point, but led 26-25 when Witt and teammate Kyisha Hunt got together to stuff an attack and complete the sweep.
 
Conte did a bit of everything in what was her first taste of collegiate competition, tallying 4.83 digs per set at the tournament. The Italian dug out a match-high 27 attacks in the season-opening win over Bowling Green and followed that up with 19 more against Xavier in a four-set match. She also finished the Hampton Inn Invitational with 19 kills, four aces, four assists and three blocks.
 
SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE
The Vikings edged past Green Bay on Friday, taking a 3-2 win over the Phoenix. Cleveland State and Green Bay are in a tie for third place in the League, just above UIC, as both teams own a 5-3 Conference record. Consistently a dominant team in the Conference and last year's Horizon League Champions, The Vikings are ranked first in hitting percentage (.254), kills (14.03 per set) and assists (13.33 per set), and are also third in blocks with an average of 2.18 per set. Earlier this season, the Flames bested Cleveland State at home with a 3-1 victory, their first against the reigning champs since 2014.

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State remains winless in the Horizon League after a 3-0 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. The Penguins lead the Conference in service aces, averaging 1.36 per set. Senior Sam Brown leads the squad with a 0.39 aces per set average, ranking her third in the Horizon League. Junior Sarah Varcolla is second in the League standings in blocks, owning an average of 1.10 per set. Earlier this season, UIC swept Youngstown State 3-0 in the Flames Athletic Center, a match which saw the Flames hit .376 as a team, their ninth-highest mark in Division I program history.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Flames will return to Chicago for a four-match home stand, beginning with Green Bay on Friday, Oct. 27 and Milwaukee on Sunday, Oct. 29.