EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The UIC women's volleyball team (7-3) captured its sixth-straight victory on Friday afternoon with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20) triumph over Montana (5-7) in its first match of the Cougar Invitational.  The Flames put together nine total blocks as a team, matching their team-high for the second time this season.

The Flames displayed both a strong offense as well as defense, with Kyisha Hunt, Ali Witt and Sarah Daneliak each registering 10 plus kills, while Brecken Roe, Manuela Conte and Carla Salvato each contributed 10 or more digs for the defense.

Hunt led the pack with 13 kills, while Witt followed closely with 12 on her way to a .318 hitting percentage. Daneliak hit .562 on the afternoon, bringing in 10 kills.
Roe paced the UIC defense, while setting personal bests in both digs (12) and kills (8). Salvato dug out 11, and Conte added 10 digs of her own. Alexandria Hicks assisted in seven of the Flames' nine blocks, which was both a match-best and a career-high for the freshman.

The first frame started off as a tight race, but the Flames were able to put up three unanswered points to create some distance and make it 15-11 as Montana called its first timeout. UIC was able to create more distance, eventually pulling out to a 21-15 lead by way of kills from Roe, Witt and Hunt. Both Witt and Hunt would each bury another, and an error by the Grizzlies secured the 1-0 win for the Flames, 25-18.

Set two began a lot like set one, before UIC was once again able to pull ahead with a 18-13 lead as Montana was called back to the bench. The Flames took three of the next four following the timeout to tally a 21-14 lead before The Grizzlies were once again called to regroup. Montana returned and threatened, taking four of the next five to pull within four, 22-18. The Flames lead was brought within three, 23-20, as the Grizzlies were able to advance on a kill and a UIC error. The final three points of the frame were traded between the two teams, ending with a buried feed at the hands of Alexandria Hicks to allow the Flames to take game two 25-21.

Montanatook control early in the third frame, and the Flames were never able to grab the lead. UIC came as close as a 12-12 tie and was within one late at the 23-22 mark, but the Grizzlies offense quickly notched the last two needed to take their first game of the match.  

Game four saw the Grizzlies jump out to a 6-1 lead, but the Flames fought back to a 15-14 lead near the midway point. The two teams were neck and neck, with 10-straight points coming from kills on either side. The Flames had the 21-18 advantage as Montana called a timeout, and a pair of Grizzly errors and a service ace by Daneliak gave way to match point for UIC, 24-18. Montana proved it wouldn't go down without a fight, chipping in the next two before Witt was able to cap off the match with a kill to finalize the 25-20 set victory.

The Flames will wrap up the Cougar Invitational tomorrow with a pair of matches, first against Seattle at 1 p.m. before tackling host SIUE at 6 p.m. in the tournament finale.