CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (11-8, 4-2 HL) opens a four-match homestand this weekend as they welcome Oakland and Cleveland State to the Flames Athletic Center. The Flames and Golden Grizzlies are set to face off Friday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. CT, while the Flames and the Vikings will battle on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m.

LOOKING BACK
The Flames went 2-0 this past weekend, sweeping Youngstown State at home, 3-0, on Friday (Oct. 5) and outlasting Northern Kentucky, 3-2, on Sunday (Oct. 7). Manuela Conte tallied a career-high 35 digs to tie the individual single-match digs record on Sunday against the Norse, and was awarded Horizon League Player of the Week for her efforts.

OFFENSIVE FRONT
The Flames are hitting .184 as a squad to move into third in the Horizon League. UIC spreads the ball around with three players averaging over 2.00 kills per set in Kiera James (2.60), Paola Santiago (2.59), and Clara Lamb (2.19). As a team, the Flames average 12.96 kills per set, good for third in the conference. Ali Witt is the Flames' most efficient attacker, hitting at a clip of .273 this season to come in fourth in the League. Tatyana Ndekwe also makes the League's top ten, owning an attack percentage of .252 to rank eighth. The Flames are third in the conference with a 12.13 assists per set average, led by Marija Borcic's 6.44 assists per set average.

BLOCK PARTY
UIC averages 2.35 blocks per set, compared to 2.13 blocks per set averaged by their opponents. Junior transfer Tatyana Ndekwe leads the block party, owning a 1.16 blocks per set average to come in at third amongst League competitors. The junior transfer put up a career-best eight total blocks in Sunday's win over NKU and was instrumental in UIC's season-high 15 blocks as a team. Ali Witt averages 0.87 blocks per set, followed by Clara Lamb (0.70 blocks per set) and Alexandria Hicks (0.70 blocks per set). The Flames' 2.35 blocks per set average puts them at second in the Horizon League.

DOUBLED UP
Four Flames have posted double-doubles this season: Marija Borcic, Manuela Conte, Lauren Musante and Paola Santiago. Borcic leads the squad with eight, followed by Santiago with six, Conte with four and Musante with three. Borcic tallied a personal-best 38 assists to go with 12 digs against Northern Kentucky on Sunday for her eighth double-double of the season, while Santiago also double-doubled against the Norse, putting up a career-high 18 kills and digging out 14.  

SHE'S OUR NUMBER ONE
Redshirt freshman Kiera James has had a big impact on UIC's offense, leading the Flames in total kills (151) with a 2.60 kills per set average. James is coming off a big weekend, leading UIC in kills against both Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky. The Downers Grove, Ill. native racked up 16 kills against the Penguins, and committed a mere two errors on 29 total swings for a personal-best .483 attack percentage. On Sunday against the Norse, James tallied a career-high 21 kills in what was her fifth double-digit kill performance of the season.

NOT SHEEPISH
Freshman Clara Lamb has made a name for herself early on in her UIC career, making a big impact for the Flames both offensively and defensively. Lamb was named to the All-Tournament team at the Omaha Challenge, UCF Challenge and the Chicago Cup after standout performances at all three tournaments. The freshman has already racked up 147 kills, and is hitting at a clip of .228 (147k-53e-413a) to rank fourth amongst UIC's attackers. Defensively, Lamb has accumulated 47 total blocks for a 0.70 per set average to tie for second-highest on the Flames' roster.

ACED IT
UIC is the Horizon League's runner-up in service aces, averaging 1.51 per set. Manuela Conte averages 0.37 aces per set to lead the Flames and rank second the League, while Marija Borcic follows closely in third with a 0.36 aces per set average. Carla Salvato averages 0.26 aces per set to come in eighth in the League.

FRESH FACES
UIC welcomes 11 newcomers to the 2018 squad, 10 of which are freshman. Tatyana Ndekwe is a junior transfer from Hutchison, and the squad's 10 freshmen are Sierra Bolen, Marija Borcic, Hailey Duncan, Paola Santiago, Michelle Glover, Clara Lamb, Lauren Musante, Velina Minkova, Francesca Wagoner and Emily Kelly. The newcomers are already making an impact, as 48 percent of UIC's kills, 58 percent of its digs and 56 percent of its blocks have come at the hands of a first-year Flame. 

SENIORITY
The Flames look to its two seniors to anchor the 2018 squad in Carla Salvato and Ali Witt. Salvato, a local talent coming out of neighboring Saint Ignatius College Prep, led the squad from the libero position in all 30 matches last season. The senior is averaging 2.74 digs per set thus far and ranks eighth in the conference in service aces, owning an average of 0.26 aces per set.

Witt hails from suburban Crystal Lake, Ill., and has been a strong offensive presence for the Flames the past two seasons. She led the squad last season with 104 blocks, while also averaging 1.87 kills per set on the offensive side. The middle blocker owns two of UIC's top 10 single-match attack percentages all-time, recording the ninth highest in UIC history last season (.727) and the fifth highest in her sophomore year (.786). The senior was named MVP of this year's UIC Invitational after leading the Flames to a perfect 3-0 appearance.  The senior averaged 2.00 kills per set, registering a .469 attack percentage (18k-3e-32a) while registering a mere three errors across all three matches.

KEY RETURNERS
In addition to its two seniors, UIC returns four players from the 2017 roster. Sophomore Alexandria Hicks and redshirt sophomore Manuela Conte are both entering their second year in a Flames jersey after both earning a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman Team last season. Sophomore Alexandra Drosopoulou is also returning this season after gathering 198 kills, 246 digs and 27 service aces in 26 appearances last season.

SCOUTING OAKLAND
Oakland is 2-4 in Horizon League action following a 1-1 showing last week. The Golden Grizzlies defeated Wright State in five set on Wednesday, Oct. 3 but were swept 3-0 by Green Bay on Friday (Oct. 5). Oakland is third in the conference in blocks behind the Flames, averaging 2.22 blocks per set as a squad. Jamie Walling (2.49 kills per set) and Aleksandra Malek (2.62 kills per set) bear the offensive load for the Golden Grizzlies, while Lindsay Wightman (4.56 digs per set) leads the way on defense. Krysteena Davis blocks an average of 1.05 per set to come in at sixth among Horizon League contenders. 

SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE
Defending Horizon League Champion Cleveland State remains undefeated thus far in conference action, Most recently taking down IUPUI (Oct. 5) and Milwaukee (Oct. 7). The Vikings are the only team above the Flames in blocks, averaging 2.83 rejections as a team to lead the conference. Sara Skeens ranks fifth in the Horizon League in kills with an average of 2.95 kills per set, but Hannah Greene is the Vikings' most efficient attacker, hitting at a clip of .273 (117k-40e-282a) to come in at third among Horizon League competitors.  

LOOKING AHEAD
The Flames will finish the homestand next weekend with Wright State and IUPUI.