CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (8-7, 1-1 HL) will be splitting time at home and on the road this weekend, wrapping its 13-match road stretch at Milwaukee (2-13, 1-1 HL) on Friday, Sept. 28 before finally returning home to Chicago on Sunday, Sept. 30 to play Green Bay (6-8, 1-1 HL). First serve against the Panthers is set for 6 p.m. CT, while Sunday's matchup will get underway at 2 p.m.

LOOKING BACK
The Flames went 1-1 in their first weekend of Horizon League play, besting IUPUI 3-1 on Friday (Sept. 21) and taking a 3-1 loss to Wright State on Saturday (Sept. 22). UIC rallied after dropping set one to take the next three straight against the Jags, but fell short against the Raiders, as just two points decided three of the four sets. 

OFFENSIVE FRONT
The Flames are hitting .174 as a squad, fourth highest in the Horizon League. UIC has three players averaging over 2.00 kills per set in Paola Santiago (2.25), Kiera James (2.23) and Clara Lamb (2.22). As a team, the Flames average 12.74 kills per set, good for third most in the conference. Ali Witt is the Flames' most efficient attacker, hitting at a clip of .305 this season to lead the Horizon League. Tatyana Ndekwe also makes the League's top ten, owning an attack percentage of .266 to rank fifth. As a team, the Flames rank third in the League in assists, led by Marija Borcic's 6.09 assists per set average.

BLOCK PARTY
UIC owns a 2.38 blocks per set average, compared to 2.09 blocks per set averaged by their opponents. Junior transfer Tatyana Ndekwe leads the block party, owning a 1.15 blocks per set average as the League's runner up in the category. Ali Witt averages 0.85 blocks per set, followed by Alexandria Hicks (0.79 blocks per set) and Clara Lamb (0.78 blocks per set). The Flames 2.38 blocks per set average ranks them second in the Horizon League.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Four Flames have posted double-doubles this season: Marija Borcic, Manuela Conte, Lauren Musante and Paola Santiago. Borcic leads the squad with six, followed by Santiago with five, Conte with three and Musante with two. All four recorded a double-double in the first weekend of Horizon League play, with Conte getting things started with 17 kills and 16 digs against IUPUI on Friday, while Borcic (22 assists, 16 digs), Musante (25 assists, 11 digs) and Santiago (15 kills, 10 digs) all reeled in a double-double for the Flames on Saturday at Wright State.

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 113 kills (2.22 per set) to lead the Flames, and is hitting at a clip of .231 (113k-39e-321a) to rank third on the squad. Defensively, Lamb has accumulated 40 total blocks for a 0.78 per set average, fourth highest on the Flames' roster. 

ACED IT
UIC sits second in the Horizon League in service aces, averaging 1.65 per set. Manuela Conte averages 0.43 aces per set to lead the Flames as well as the League, while Marija Borcic follows closely in second behind with a 0.39 aces per set average. Lauren Musante averages 0.28 aces per set to come in a tie for 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, 65 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 was the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 11, 2017 following a career-high 31-dig performance against Bradley at the CEFCU Classic. Her 31 digs was just the 15th time in program history that a UIC player tallied 30 plus digs in a match.

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 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 MILWAUKEE
The Panthers went 1-1 in their first taste of Horizon League action, taking down Wright State 3-1 and falling 3-0 to Northern Kentucky. Junior Kylie Wilks leads Milwaukee in kills (2.09 per set) and also puts in time on defense, averaging 3.00 digs per set. Freshman Jess Grabowski averages 4.75 digs per set to pace the Panthers and rank fifth in the Horizon League.

SCOUTING GREEN BAY
Green Bay also finished the first weekend of Horizon League play with a 1-1 showing, falling 3-1 to Northern Kentucky while sweeping IUPUI 3-0. The Phoenix are second in the League in hitting percentage (.189), assists (12.12 per set) and kills (12.88 per set). Sophomore Taylor Wolf averages 4.59 kills per set to lead the conference.  Fellow sophomore Ashley Sledge stands as the Phoenix' most efficient attacker with a .285 hitting percentage putting her second behind Witt in the conference standings. Junior Setter Maddie Yoss leads the League in assists, contributing an average of 10.22 assists per set. 

LOOKING AHEAD
The Flames have another split weekend scheduled, facing Youngstown State on Friday, Oct. 5 at home before getting back on the road to battle Northern Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 7.