CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (17-6, 6-3 HL) pushed its win streak to five on Friday evening with a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-23) sweep of Oakland (12-9, 5-4 HL). The Flames picked up the victory behind a solid defensive effort that featured a season's best 16 blocks and a season-low .070 opponent hitting percentage.

Match Highlights
Set One

• The Flames led by four, 21-17, when three-straight points for Oakland put it within one, 21-20.
• A kill from Brookah Palmer and a Golden Grizzlies error gave UIC two, 23-20, but Oakland killed the next two, 23-22.
• Terminations from Marija Borcic and Kiera James put an end to the set, 25-22.

Set Two

• Tied at 19, James rattled off three-straight kills to put the Flames ahead, 22-19.
• Oakland grabbed the next three to once again bring the set to a tie.
• A kill from Tatyana Ndekwe and an Oakland error got the Flames to set point, but the Golden Grizzlies tied it once more, 24-24.
• This time terminations from Lauren Musante and Ndekwe ended it, 26-24.

Set Three

• The Flames erased a 14-11 lead for the Golden Grizzlies thanks to kills from Alexandria Hicks and Palmer and a block from Michelle Glover and Palmer.
• The teams traded off taking the lead, until a James termination and a block from Ndekwe and Hicks put UIC ahead by two, 20-18.
• Following an Oakland timeout, the Golden Grizzlies came out and took the next two, tying the match at 20.
• The Flames once again went up by two after an Oakland service error and a Hicks termination, but UIC errors helped the Golden Grizzlies to go on a 3-0 run and take over the lead, 23-22.
• Another Ndekwe-Hicks block teamed up with kills from Glover and Palmer to allow UIC to end it, 25-23, to complete the sweep.

Facts & Figures

• UIC's 16 blocks was a season high. It was the 12th time this season the Flames recorded 10 or more blocks.
• The Flames kept Oakland to a mere .070 attack percentage, the lowest of any UIC opponent this season.
• UIC's five-match win streak is its longest of the season so far.
• Alexandria Hicks finished the night hitting .353 with six kills and was error free. It was just the second time this season Hicks did not record an error.
• Hicks also added eight digs and six blocks to her offensive performance.
• Brookah Palmer led the way with 10 kills. She was also one dig shy of a double-double with nine.
• Michelle Glover finished with six kills and seven blocks for the Flames.
• Tatyana Ndekwe blocked eight matching her own career high.
• Manuela Conte paced the squad with 14 digs. Velina Minkova added 10.
• Lauren Musante handed out 19 assists and was in double-double territory with nine digs.
• Marija Borcic was also near a double-double with 14 assists and nine digs.
• The Flames tallied more kills than the Golden Grizzlies, 41-37. They also turned in more digs, 72-69, and had four times as many blocks, 16-4.

Up Next

• UIC's four-match homestand ends tomorrow against Youngstown State. First serve is set for 4 p.m. CT.
• Seniors Manuela Conte, Tatyana Ndekwe and Brookah Palmer will be honored following the match.

Highlights

 

Postgame Interview - Michelle Glover & Alexandria Hicks