CHICAGO – UIC will take the floor for the first time in 2017 on Friday morning, August 25, at 11:30 a.m. CT, when the Flames kick off the campaign at the Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by Bowling Green.
 
The Flames open the four-team event against the host team at BGSU's Stroh Center at 11:30 a.m. CT. The squad will have a quick turnaround before resuming the tournament with a match against Xavier at 4 p.m. CT. UIC concludes the first of three visits to the state of Ohio on Saturday, August 26, when it squares off against Duquesne at 11 a.m. CT.
 
Live stats will be available for all three matches, while fans can listen to an audio stream of UIC's meeting with Bowling Green on Friday.
 
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.
 
NEW FACES
The UIC roster boasts eight newcomers, all of which are freshmen. The group includes libero Andrea Aviles, outside hitters Alexandra Drosopolou, Brecken Roe, Laney Malloy, 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.
 
CONTE CONNECTION
Speaking of Manuela Conte, the native 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.
 
SETTING FOR SUCCESS
Fifth-year senior Nicole Johnson is the most tenured player on the Flames roster, having been part of the program since 2013. She enters the season with 3,870 careers assists, third-most in program history. As a redshirt freshman in 2014, the Eagan, Minn., native was crowned the Horizon League Freshman of the Year and selected to the All-Horizon League Team. In 2015 she led the conference and ranked eighth nationally with 11.58 assists per set.
 
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 Drosopolou came to Chicago by way of Thessaloniki, Greece. Andrea Aviles' hometown is San Juan, Puerto Rico.
 
CLOSER TO HOME
The Flames have one student-athlete who is not only from Chicago, but she attended high school right down the street from UIC's urban campus. Carla Salvato, who has appeared in 23 matches over the past two seasons, attended nearby Saint Ignatius College Prep, which is just west of the Flames Athletic Center. There, she was a two-time All-Conference selection.
 
SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN
The Falcons won 21 matches in 2016, including three at last season's UIC Invitational, and 10 in Mid-American Conference play. This year's team is young with only one senior, outside hitter Nicole Slimko, and 10 underclassmen. BGSU has won seven of 11 all-time meetings against the Flames, including a contest at the Flames Athletic Center last season.
 
SCOUTING XAVIER
Like Bowling Green, Xavier, hit the 20-win mark in 2016 with 13 of those triumphs coming against Big East rivals. The Musketeers are an experienced group led by the senior trio of Lauren Frilling, Samantha Foti and Kristen Massa. Foti started 30 of 33 matches a year ago, while Massa appeared in all 33. Frilling played in 29 matches with six starts. UIC leads the all-time series, 4-2, and Friday's match will be the first between the two sides since November 4, 1994, when both schools were members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
 
SCOUTING DUQUESNE
Duquesne won 18 times in 2016 with eight wins in 14 tries against Atlantic 10 opposition. The Dukes figure to be led offensively by senior Molly Davet. As a junior in 2016, Davet registered a team-high 2.79 kills per set. Classmate Abbie Trzeciak hit a team-high .272 with 218 kills. The Flames won the only previous meeting between the two programs, claiming a 3-1 victory in Chicago on Sept. 12, 2009.
 
UIC INVITATIONAL ON TAP
The Flames return to Chicago to host the UIC Invitational Aug. 31 – Sept. 2. This year's tournament includes Idaho and crosstown rival DePaul. Those two teams will get the event underway on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. before UIC hosts Idaho on Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. The three-day tournament concludes in prime time on Saturday, Sept. 2, when the Flames meet DePaul at 6 p.m. All three matches will be played at the Flames Athletic Center.