CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team will host South Dakota State on Wednesday, Sept. 13 in its first mid-week match of the season. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT in the Flames Athletic Center.
 
LOOKING BACK
UIC dominated in its action-packed weekend, taking all four of its matches across three days, while only dropping three sets along the way. The Flames kicked off the busy weekend with a 3-2 victory at Bradley on Friday to open the CEFCU classic, and then moved on to a 3-0 sweep on Saturday against Murray State before once again taking Bradley, 3-1, Saturday evening.

Senior Kyisha Hunt was named most valuable player of the CEFCU classic after averaging 3.50 kills per set, while adding seven blocks. Libero Carla Salvato joined Hunt on the CEFCU All-Tournament with 5.75 digs per set including a career-high 31 dig performance against Bradley on Friday.
The Flames returned home on Sunday, bringing in their second sweep of the weekend with a 3-0 win against neighboring Chicago State.

CARLA SALVATO NAMED HL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Carla Salvato was named Horizon League Player of the week on Monday following a stellar performance in the action-packed weekend. The junior registered a career-high 31 digs on Friday 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, and closed out the CEFCU Classic with a match-high 28 digs in the finale against Bradley on Saturday. The libero earned a spot on the CEFCU Classic's All-Tournament team, averaging 5.75 digs per set in the tournament, and now leads the Horizon League with 4.92 digs per set. Salvato is not only 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. 

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 fourth in the Horizon League with 12.64 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 5.78 assists per set entering the weekend, while Skopal is ninth with 5.72.

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 sixth in the Horizon League with 4.36 digs per set through UIC's nine matches. She's also ranks second on the team with 11 service aces after posting a career-high four against Chicago State Sunday.
 
HUNTING SEASON
Senior Kyisha Hunt has been UIC's most prolific attacker this season. The Kankakee, Ill., native leads the squad with 3.50 kills per set, which ranks fourth in the Horizon League. Hunt is runner-up on the Flames in hitting percentage as she's converted at a clip of .278, second only to junior Ali Witt (.324). Hunt was crowned most valuable player at the CEFCU Classic this past weekend, averaging 3.50 kills 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 Drosopulou came to Chicago by way of Thessaloniki, Greece. Andrea Aviles' hometown is San Juan, Puerto Rico.
 
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 over the weekend. In her first taste of collegiate competition, Conte tallied 4.83 digs per set, which ranked fourth in the Horizon League over the weekend. 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 weekend with 19 kills, four aces, four assists and three blocks.
 
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
SDSU enters Wednesday's contest with a 1-8 record on the season. The Jackrabbits went 0-3 this weekend at the UND Classic, falling to Appalachian State, George Washington and North Dakota. SDSU senior Ellie Benson earned a spot on the UND Classic All-Tournament team, averaging 4.0 digs per set on the weekend.

LOOKING AHEAD
UIC will head out for its final tournament of the season this weekend, as they travel to Edwardsville, Ill. for the Cougar Invite. The Flames will battle Montana on Friday before facing Seattle and host SIUE on Saturday. UIC's match against SIUE can be streamed live here.