CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (15-8, 8-2 HL) will return to the road this weekend for a pair of rematches against Cleveland State (14-8, 8-2 HL) and Oakland (7-14, 3-7 HL). The Flames will face the Vikings on Friday, Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. CT and the Golden Grizzlies on Saturday, Oct. 27 starting at 3 p.m.

LOOKING BACK
The Flames are riding a six-match win streak after another 2-0 weekend in Horizon League play last week. Kiera James eclipsed the 20-kill mark for the fourth-straight match in Friday's (Oct. 19) 3-1 win over Wright State, and Paola Santiago put up her eighth-straight double-digit kill performance in Saturday's (Oct. 20) sweep of IUPUI.

WHERE WE RANK
UIC has the most wins in the Horizon League with 15 and remains in a tie for second with Friday's opponent, Cleveland State. UIC is hitting .198 after another efficient weekend for the Flames' offense, hitting above .250 as a squad in both matches. The Flames have had team attack percentages of .240 or above in its last five matches and rank third in the League in the category. UIC is also third in kills, averaging 13.33 kills per set, and comes in at second in both blocks (2.30 per set) and assists (12.55 per set). In Horizon League matches, UIC leads way in hitting percentage (.232), assists (13.65 per set), and kills (14.33 per set).

BLOCK PARTY
UIC averages 2.30 blocks per set, second highest in the Horizon League. Junior transfer Tatyana Ndekwe leads the block party, owning a 1.09 blocks per set average to come in fifth among League competitors. Ali Witt averages 0.93 blocks per set after stopping a combined 11 attempts in last weekend's matches. The Flames have out blocked their opponent in 13 matches thus far – Bryant (Aug. 24), Maryland Eastern Shore (Aug. 25), Central Michigan (Aug. 25), Wofford (Sept. 7), Northwestern (Sept. 14), Loyola (Sept. 15), DePaul (Sept. 15), IUPUI (Sept. 21), Wright State (Sept. 22), Milwaukee (Sept. 28), Youngstown State (Oct. 5), Wright State (Oct. 19), IUPUI (Oct. 20).

SHE'S OUR NUMBER ONE
Redshirt freshman Kiera James has had a big impact on UIC's offense, leading the Flames in total kills (236), and averaging 3.19 kills per set to rank third in the Horizon League. James was awarded Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 15 after tallying a career-high 29 terminations against Cleveland State (Oct. 13), the most by a single player since Stephenee Yancy's 33 kills against Milwaukee on Nov. 6, 2015. James has recorded 20 or more kills on four occasions, and has amassed nine double-digit kill efforts this season. Against League opponents, James averages 4.32 kills per set to lead the conference.

CONTE MAKES HISTORY
Redshirt sophomore Manuela Conte etched her name into UIC's record book on Oct. 7 against Northern Kentucky, posting 35 digs to match the individual single-match dig record. It is just the 16th time in program history that a player has recorded at least 30 digs in a single match, and she matches Maggie Strus's 35-dig showing on Sept. 15, 2012 against Belmont. Since stepping into the libero position on Oct. 5, Conte has averaged 5.17 digs per set, allowing the Flames to out-dig all six of their opponents with Conte as libero. 

PAOLA'S POWER
Freshman Paola Santiago highlights on both offense and defense for the Flames, averaging 2.79 kills per set and 2.65 digs per set. Santiago has seven double-doubles this season – UTEP (08/31), Omaha (08/31), UMKC (09/01), Wofford (09/07), Wright State (09/22), Northern Kentucky (10/07) and Oakland (10/12). The freshman has had double-digit kill efforts in her last eight matches and has 12 double-digit kill efforts this season. On the defensive side, Santiago has nine double-digit dig efforts so far, and has recorded at least eight digs on 16 occasions.

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 racked up 174 kills, and is hitting at a clip of .218 (174k-69e-482a) to rank fourth amongst UIC's attackers. Defensively, Lamb has accumulated 56 total blocks for a 0.68 per set average, third-highest on the Flames' roster.

ACED IT
UIC is the Horizon League's leader in service aces, averaging 1.45 aces per set. Manuela Conte ranks second in the League with a 0.38 aces per set average, while Marija Borcic follows closely in third with an average of 0.35 aces per set. The Flames have recorded 125 aces as a team, compared to just 89 by their opponents. UIC opponents average 1.03 aces per set, third-lowest 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 10, followed by Santiago with seven, Conte with four and Musante with three.

FRESH FACES
UIC welcomes 11 newcomers to the 2018 squad, 10 of which are freshman. Tatyana Ndekwe is a junior transfer from Hutchison, and Sierra Bolen, Marija Borcic, Hailey Duncan, Paola Santiago, Michelle Glover, Clara Lamb, Lauren Musante, Velina Minkova, Francesca Wagoner and Emily Kelly make up the squad's 10 freshmen. The newcomers are already making an impact, as 49 percent of UIC's kills, 57 percent of its digs and 55 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 2.36 digs per set and 0.24 service aces per set this season.

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 this year at the 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 CLEVELAND STATE
The Flames saw action against Cleveland State just under two weeks ago on Oc. 13, with UIC landing on top 3-2. The Vikings have won their last two matches, and have an identical 8-2 record in Horizon League play. Cleveland State leads the League in blocks, owning an average of 2.80 blocks per set as a team. The Vikings come in at third in the conference in digs (18.07 per set), fourth in hitting percentage (.187) and fifth in both assists (11.74 per set) and kills (12.43 per set). The Flames are 42-31 all-time against Cleveland State, taking two of the three last meetings.

SCOUTING OAKLAND
Oakland is tied for sixth in the Horizon League standings, owning a 3-7 record in conference matches. The Golden Grizzlies are third behind the Flames in blocks, averaging 2.26 blocks per set as a squad. Oakland is hitting .167 to rank fifth and averages 11.97 kills per set to come in seventh in the conference. UIC defeated Oakland by a final tally of 3-1 just two weekends ago, and is 4-8 all-time against the Golden Grizzlies.  

LOOKING AHEAD
The Flames have a split weekend scheduled, facing Northern Kentucky on Friday, Nov. 2 for senior night before facing Youngstown State on Sunday, Nov. 4 on the road.