CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (11-5, 0-2 HL) will head out in its first Horizon League road trip of the season this weekend, traveling to Youngstown State (6-9, 0-2 HL) and Oakland (7-7, 0-2 HL). The Flames will first face the Penguins on Friday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. CT before moving on to face Oakland on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 3 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
UIC was handed a pair of losses in its Horizon League opening weekend, losing in five sets to defending champion Green Bay on Friday (Sept. 27) and dropping three straight sets on Saturday (Sept. 28) to a tough Milwaukee team.  Michelle Glover led UIC's offense on the weekend, hitting .316 and averaging 2.25 kills per set, while also pacing the team in blocks with an average of 1.75 stops per set.

STRONG IN THE MIDDLE
UIC's primary middle blockers, Michelle Glover and Tatyana Ndekwe, have given the Flames great strength up at the net both offensively and defensively. Glover is averaging 2.37 kills per set, while Ndekwe averages 1.43 kills per set, and the pair also makes up UIC's two most efficient attackers, hitting .293 and .228, respectively. The tandem additionally leads the team in blocks, as Glover's 1.43 blocks per set leads the League and ranks 17th in the nation. Glover also comes in at fourth in the nation in total blocks, racking up a total of 85 stops so far this season.

PAOLA'S POWER
Sophomore Paola Santiago has been an anchor for the UIC offense, averaging 2.60 kills per set to lead the squad. The sophomore earned the title of Most Valuable Player at the Chippewa Invitational after averaging 3.09 kills per set, 1.91 digs per set and recording four service aces in the tournament. Santiago also makes a statement for the defense, averaging 2.35 digs per set, good for second most on the team. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native owns two double-doubles on the season, one at Idaho (17 kills, 22 digs) and another versus Chicago State (14 kills, 13 digs).

LET ME ASSIST YOU
UIC's 12.73 assists per set comes in at second in the Horizon League and 37th in the nation, thanks in large part to setters Marija Borcic and Lauren Musante. Both Borcic and Musante rank in the conference's top ten in assists, coming in at fifth and seventh, respectively. Both setters also contribute on the defensive end as well, as Borcic averages 2.20 digs per set and Musante averages 2.06 per set. The tandem leads the squad in double-doubles with Musante owning four double-doubles this season compared to Borcic's three.

WHERE WE RANK
The Flames are positioned well around the League, ranking in the top five in nearly every statistical category. After putting up big numbers throughout the non-conference slate, UIC leads the conference and ranks 17th in the nation in blocks per set, averaging 2.73 a set and recording nearly 30 more team blocks than any other team in the League. Offensively, the Flames come in second in assists (12.37 per set), while their 13.37 kills per set as a squad puts them in third. In digs, UIC ranks fourth in the conference and 35th in the nation, averaging 16.48 digs per set, and it allows the third-fewest service aces in the League, keeping opponents to just 0.95 per set.

BALANCED ATTACK
UIC's offense utilizes a balanced attack to spread the ball around to several strong attackers. The Flames have five players averaging at least two kills per set in Paola Santiago (2.60 per set), Kiera James (2.30 per set), Michelle Glover (2.37 per set), Alexandria Hicks (2.16 per set) and Brookah Palmer (2.56 per set).

NEW TO THE SQUAD
The Flames brought on board only one newcomer for the 2019 season, Texas A&M transfer Brookah Palmer. Last season with the Aggies, Palmer appeared in 29-of-30 matches, hitting .181 on the season and averaging 1.70 kills, 1.86 digs and 2.09 points per set. Prior to her time in College Station, Palmer spent a season with the University of Houston, where she led the American Athletic Conference and ranked 40th in the nation with 4.15 kills per set. Palmer also led the AAC in both total points (582) and points per set (4.77) in 2015, earning All-American Athletic Conference First Team honors as well as AVCA All-Southeast Region Honorable Mention. As a Flame, Palmer is averaging 2.56 kills per set, 1.49 digs per set and she leads the team with 11 service aces this season.

FRESH FACES ON STAFF
UIC welcomed a pair of new assistants to its staff for the 2019 season, adding Lauren Van Orden on staff in March and Katie Weidner in June. Van Orden joins the Flames after spending four years (2014-17) as an assistant with city-foe Loyola, guiding the Ramblers to a 20-win season back in 2015. Van Orden boasts an incredibly successful collegiate career that started with two years at San Diego State and capped off with a 2011 national championship in her senior season at UCLA. During her two years as a Bruin, Van Orden led the team to a 52-15 record, making 61 starts as the team's setter and captain.

Weidner came to Chicago following stints with the Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport as well as the Israel Volleyball Federation. As a player, Weidner started her collegiate career at New Hampshire University, earning a spot on the 2003 America East All-Rookie Team before transferring to Marquette University. With the Golden Eagles, Weidner was a two-time Academic All-Big East Team honoree (2006-07) ranking seventh in career assists (2,308) and second in single-match assists (85).

WELCOME BACK
UIC returns 14 of its 17 members from the 2018 squad, including Horizon League Freshman of the Year Kiera James and fellow All-League First Team and All-Freshman Team-member Paola Santiago, who both made a splash in their first seasons as Flames. Also back in the lineup is redshirt junior Manuela Conte, after finishing last year with the second most digs in UIC's single-season history (516) and ranking second in the Horizon League in service aces (0.35 per set).

FLAMES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
UIC's roster boasts four international players, more than any of their Horizon League counterparts. Junior Alexandra Drosopoulou hails from Thessaloniki, Greece, sophomore setter Marija Borcic calls Uzice Serbia home, redshirt junior Manuela Conte is from Bologna, Italy, while sophomore Velina Minkova is native to Sofia, Bulgaria.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Youngstown State was dealt a pair of 3-0 losses last weekend, falling to Northern Kentucky as well as Wright State. The Penguins are the League's runner-up in service aces, averaging 1.56 aces per set. Setter Alexia Byrnes anchors down the Youngstown State offense, offering up an average of 8.53 assists per set to rank fourth in the conference. UIC owns a 33-12 record all time against the Penguins, taking the last four meetings consecutively.

Oakland was also dealt a pair of 3-0 sweeps last weekend, losing to Wright State and IUPUI. Oakland's offense ranks fifth attack percentage within the League, hitting .188, while it comes in at sixth in both assists (11.60 per set) and kills (12.28 per set). Taylor Dellinger leads the Golden Grizzlies with an average of 3.23 kills per set, good for third in the conference, while Lindsay Wightman digs out an average of 4.46 per set to pace Oakland and rank fifth in the League. The Flames are 4-9 all-time against the Golden Grizzlies after splitting last year's meetings, with both teams winning on their own respective courts.