CHICAGO – The fourth-seeded UIC volleyball team (17-12, 10-6 HL) will return to Green Bay, Wis. to contend for the Horizon League Championship this weekend. The Flames kick off the campaign by facing No. 5 Milwaukee in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. CT.

LOOKING BACK
The Flames finished the regular season last weekend, closing out their home schedule with a sweep over Milwaukee on Thursday (Nov. 8) before falling 3-2 to regular season champion Green Bay on Saturday (Nov. 10).

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD SET
The Flames earned the fourth seed in the tournament following a 10-6 showing in Horizon League action. Their 10 conference wins are the most since the 2012 squad, which went on to contend in the Horizon League Championship match. UIC will be facing the No. 5 seed Milwaukee in Friday's second quarterfinal match. The tournament opener will see No. 3 Northern Kentucky and No. 6 Wright State face off on Friday, while No. 1 seed Green Bay and No. 2 Cleveland State received byes to the semifinals on Saturday.

BLOCK PARTY
UIC posted a team season-high 16 blocks on Saturday at Green Bay, and the Flames' 2.36 blocks per set average ranks second in the Horizon League. Junior transfer Tatyana Ndekwe leads the block party, owning a 1.06 blocks per set average to finish the regular season eighth among League competitors. Ali Witt averages 0.94 blocks per set, followed by Clara Lamb with 0.72 blocks per set. Michelle Glover has added some big stops late this season for the Flames, including a 10-block performance at Green Bay on Saturday.

The Flames have out blocked their opponent in 16 matches this season – 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), Northern Kentucky (Nov. 2), Youngstown State (Nov. 4) and Milwaukee (Nov. 8).

SHE'S OUR NUMBER ONE
Redshirt freshman Kiera James has had a big impact on UIC's offense, leading the Flames in total kills (325), and averaging 3.32 kills per set to finish fourth 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. The redshirt freshman has tallied 14 double-digit kill performances this season and has five appearances totaling 20 kills or more.  

CONTE MAKES HISTORY
Redshirt sophomore Manuela Conte etched her name into UIC's record book on Oct. 27 at Oakland, setting the individual single-match dig record with 37 digs. The redshirt sophomore solidified her name at the top of the record book after tying the previous record of 35 back on Oct. 7 at Northern Kentucky. The Bologna, Italy native has three 30-plus dig showings, and has collected 475 digs this season, fifth highest in a single season in UIC history. Conte has allowed the Flames to out-dig 11 out of 12 opponents since becoming Libero on Oct. 5, and she finishes the regular season seventh in the Horizon League with 4.28 digs per set.

PAOLA'S POWER
Freshman Paola Santiago highlights on both offense and defense for the Flames, averaging 2.81 kills per set and 2.68 digs per set. Her 2.81 kills per set average ranks eighth in the Horizon League. The freshman has recorded 10 double-doubles this season, second most on the squad. Santiago has had double-digit kill efforts in 16 matches this season, and double-digit dig efforts in 13 matches.

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 225 kills, and is hitting at a clip of .217 (225k-86e-640a). Defensively, Lamb has accumulated 77 total blocks for a 0.72 per set average for the Flames.

ACED IT
UIC ends the regular season second in the Horizon League in service aces, averaging 1.41 aces per set. Manuela Conte ranks second in the League with a 0.35 aces per set average, followed by Marija Borcic in fourth (0.31 aces per set). The Flames have recorded 156 aces as a team, compared to 117 by their opponents. UIC opponents are limited to 1.05 aces per set, fourth-lowest in the Horizon League.

DOUBLED UP
Five Flames have posted double-doubles this season: Marija Borcic, Manuela Conte, Lauren Musante, Paola Santiago and Michelle Glover. Borcic leads the squad with 15, followed by Santiago with ten, Conte with four, Musante with three and Glover with one. Borcic double-doubled against both Milwaukee (41 assists, 10 digs) and Green Bay (51 assists, 11 digs) last weekend, while Glover joined the double-double group with 11 kills and 10 blocks, both personal bests. Glover's 10 blocks against the Phoenix are the most by any Flame this season.  

FRESH FACES
UIC 2018 squad features 11 newcomers, 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 have made an impact, as 52 percent of UIC's kills and 57 percent of its digs, and 59 percent of its blocks have come at the hands of a first-year Flame. 

SENIORITY
The Flames have looked to seniors Carla Salvato and Ali Witt to anchor the 2018 squad. Salvato, a local talent coming out of neighboring Saint Ignatius College Prep is averaging 2.22 digs per set and 0.19 service aces per set.

Witt hails from suburban Crystal Lake, Ill., and has been a strong mid-court presence for the Flames the past two seasons. The senior was named MVP at this year's UIC Invitational after leading the Flames to a perfect 3-0 appearance. She averaged 2.00 kills per set in the tournament, registering a .469 attack percentage (18k-3e-32a) while registering a mere three errors across all three matches. Both Witt and Salvato were honored earlier this week as members of the 2018 Horizon League All-Academic Team.

SCOUTING MILWAUKEE
The Panthers finished with a 7-9 mark in conference, but have dropped their last four matches. Milwaukee finished the regular season fourth in the Horizon League in kills (12.72 per set) and assists (12.05 per set), fifth in hitting percentage (.171) and sixth in service aces (1.01 per set). Kylie Wilks averages 2.13 kills per set to anchor the offense, while Jess Grabowski takes care of the defense with an average of 4.92 digs per set. The Flames swept the Panthers in both regular season matchups.