PEORIA, Ill. – UIC bounced back into the win column Friday afternoon by taking down Bradley in the first match of the CEFCU Classic, 3-2 (17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 17-15).
 
UIC (3-3) trailed 15-14 in the fifth set, but a kill from Alexandra Drosopoulou and an attacking error on Bradley (2-6) gave the Flames a shot at match point. While Bradley's Erica Haslag had a match-high 27 kills, UIC's Ali Witt and Brecken Roe teamed up to block her final attempt to notch a thrilling 17-15 come-from-behind triumph. It was the second five-set victory of the season for head coach Justin Ingram the young Flames, both of which have come in true road contests. Half of UIC's six matches this season, and two of the last three, have gone the distance.

How It Happened
The two teams evenly split the first 12 points of the match before Bradley went ahead for good on a kill from Haslag. UIC (3-3) found itself within a point, down 9-8, after a BU serving error, but the Flames gave a point right back with a similar miscue. The home team would lead by at least two points for the remainder of the set before Michaela Hoffa connected for a kill that sealed her team's 25-17 triumph. Bradley hit .424 as a team in the opening frame with 14 kills and no attacking errors. On the flip side, UIC was hampered by seven attacking errors, the most for any set throughout the match.

The second stanza was very much a back-and-forth affair. UIC gained a 10-9 advantage when Sarah Daneliak served one of her three aces and the Flames would fail to trail the rest of the way before edging out a two-point victory. Down the stretch the Braves fought off a couple of set points before Daneliak buried a pass from Kaliegh Skopal out of a timeout that finished off the Braves.

After the intermission, UIC increased its efficiency once again. The Flames hit a match-best .310 with 17 kills en route to their most convincing win of the day, a 25-19 victory. UIC got out to a quick 6-1 advantage highlighted by a pair of kills from Manuela Conte. The Braves chipped away and eventually pulled even at 15 points apiece. Bradley even took a slim 17-16 lead before another kill from Conte and a BU attacking error gave UIC the lead for good.

Carla Salvato was a key contributor all match long, but especially in the third set as she collected nine of her match and career-best 31 digs.

The fourth set was tight yet again with the score knotted at 19 in the waning stages. Jamie Livaudais gave the Braves a one-point lead on a kill and an attacking error on the Flames made it a two-point advantage. Bradley led 24-20 when Witt and Daneliak extended the frame with back-to-back kills, but following a BU timeout, Hannah Angeli finished off the 25-22 victory with one of her five kills to extend the match for the home team.

In the decisive fifth set, UIC trailed 8-6 when the teams switched sides and took a brief break for a media timeout. Bradley had a chance to claim victory with a 14-12 lead following another kill from Angeli. An attack error helped the Flames continue to stay alive before Roe and Daneliak stuffed Livaudais at the net to pull even at 14-14. After a Bradley timeout Alissa Schovanec scored to set up another match point that UIC would fight off thanks to the big swing from Drosopoulou. Following another attacking error, Roe and Witt blocked Haslag's 75^th swing of the day to get into the win column.

Beyond the Box Score

• Kyisha Hunt led four Flames in double figures with 14 kills. The senior has paced the UIC offensive attack in five of the team's six matches this season.
• Ali Witt collected a season-high 14 kills, to shy of her career-best effort.
• Sarah Daneliak posted career highs in kills (10), blocks (5) and aces (3) Friday.
• Alexandra Drosopoulou registered her first collegiate double-double behind 10 kills and a career-high 11 digs. She is the third member of the UIC squad to post a double-double this season and the second (Manuela Conte) to do so with kills and digs.
• Carla Salvato picked up a career-high 31 digs against the Braves. It is only the 15^th time in program history that a player has registered at least 30 digs in a match and the first since Oct. 26, 2012, when Maggie Strus dug 32 attacks against Cleveland State.
• Brecken Roe's six blocks marked a career high and the most for any UIC player in a match this season.
• The team set a season high with 87 digs Friday and matched a season high with nine blocks.

Up Next
UIC will remain in Peoria, Ill., for two more matches in the CEFCU Classic. The Flames will play Murray State at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, before a rematch against the Braves at 5 p.m.