CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (16-11, 9-5 HL) will wrap up the regular season this weekend with matches against Milwaukee and Green Bay. The Flames will host Milwaukee on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. CT and will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. at Green Bay.

LOOKING BACK
The Flames went 1-1 last weekend, dropping a 3-0 decision against Northern Kentucky on Friday (Nov. 2) before taking down Youngstown State 3-1 on Sunday (Nov. 4). Sunday's victory over the Penguins was UIC's ninth Horizon League victory of the season, officially surpassing last year's total of eight. Their nine conference wins are the most since 2012 squad won 10 Horizon League matchups.

WHERE WE RANK
UIC is in a tie for third with Northern Kentucky, just behind Cleveland State and Green Bay in first with identical 11-3 records. The Flames come in at third in the League in hitting percentage, boasting a .197 attack percentage as a squad. UIC is also third in kills (13.56 per set) and service aces (1.40 per set), and is second in the conference in assists, averaging 12.76 assists per set. The Flames also runners-up in blocking, averaging 2.29 blocks per set. Ali Witt is UIC's most efficient attacker, hitting at a clip of .262 to rank seventh in the Horizon League. Tatyana Ndekwe follows with a .246 hitting percentage. Marija Borcic leads the way in assists, ranking fifth in the League with a 7.98 per set average.

BLOCK PARTY
UIC's 2.29 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 come in sixth among League competitors. Ali Witt averages 0.93 blocks per set, followed by Clara Lamb with 0.72 blocks per set. The Flames have out blocked their opponent in 15 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), Northern Kentucky (Nov. 2) and Youngstown State (Nov. 4).

SHE'S OUR NUMBER ONE
Redshirt freshman Kiera James has had a big impact on UIC's offense, leading the Flames in total kills (297), and averaging 3.30 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. The redshirt freshman has tallied 12 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 436 digs this season, eighth highest in a single season in UIC history. Conte has allowed the Flames to out-dig all ten opponents since becoming Libero on Oct. 5, and she ranks seventh in the Horizon League with 4.23 digs per set.

PAOLA'S POWER
Freshman Paola Santiago highlights on both offense and defense for the Flames, averaging 2.84 kills per set and 2.71 digs per set. Her 2.84 kills per set average ranks eighth in the Horizon League. Santiago was UIC's top kill producer this past weekend, leading the Flames against both Northern Kentucky and Youngstown State. The freshman tallied 14 kills and 14 digs against the Penguins for a double-double, her 10th this season. The freshman has had double-digit kill efforts in her last 12 matches and has 15 double-digit kill efforts this season. On the defensive side, Santiago has 12 double-digit dig efforts so far, and has recorded at least eight digs on 19 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 212 kills, and is hitting at a clip of .221 (212k-81e-593a). Defensively, Lamb has accumulated 71 total blocks for a 0.72 per set average for the Flames.

ACED IT
UIC ranks third in the Horizon League in service aces, averaging 1.40 aces per set. Manuela Conte ranks second in the League with a 0.36 aces per set average, followed by Marija Borcic in fifth (0.30 aces per set). The Flames have recorded 144 aces as a team, compared to 111 by their opponents. UIC opponents average 1.08 aces per set, fourth-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 13, followed by Santiago with ten, Conte with four and Musante with three. Borcic and Santiago double-doubled on Sunday at Youngstown State, with Santiago recording an identical 14 kills and digs, while Borcic put together 36 assists to go with 20 digs.  

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 making an impact, as 51 percent of UIC's kills and 57 percent of its digs and 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 2.19 digs per set and 0.21 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.

SCOUTING MILWAUKEE
The Panthers fell to IUPUI and Cleveland State last weekend, falling 3-2 on Friday against the Jags before dropping a 3-1 decision to the Vikings on Sunday. Milwaukee is fourth in the League in assists (12.10 per set) and kills (12.75 per set) and owns the fifth-highest hitting percentage in the conference at .172. The Flames swept the Panthers back on Sept. 28 in the first meeting between the two teams this season.

SCOUTING GREEN BAY
Green Bay is battling for the regular season title, despite splitting last weekend 1-1. The Phoenix were outlasted by Oakland 3-2 on Friday, but bounced back with a 3-0 sweep of Wright State on Sunday. The Phoenix are firing on all cylinders, ranking second in hitting percentage (.202) and kills (13.61 per set), while coming in third in assists (12.70 per set) and digs (18.20 per set). Green Bay is one of just two UIC home losses this season, as it was able to come away with a 3-2 victory over the Flames back on Sept. 30.  

LOOKING AHEAD
The Flames will await the results of this weekend to determine both the site as well as their seed for the Horizon League Championships, which are set to begin on Friday, Nov. 16.