CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (18-6, 7-3 HL) will take its six-match win streak on the road this weekend, traveling to IUPUI and Northern Kentucky. The Flames and Jags will compete on Friday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. CT, while UIC and Northern Kentucky will face off on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames are riding a six-match win streak after taking home sweeps over Oakland and Youngstown State last weekend. UIC has won its last nine sets consecutively, dating back to its 3-1 win over IUPUI on Oct. 19. Saturday's win over Youngstown State matched last season's win total, a mark that was UIC's highest since 2012.  

MONSTER BLOCK
The Flames have had a huge presence at the net this season, tallying 226 total blocks as a squad to rank 12th in the nation. UIC averages 2.57 blocks per set as a team, a mark which leads the Horizon League and ranks 27th in the nation. The Flames' big hands have stopped ten or more on 12 occasions, with four of those occasions coming in at 14 or more, and they have out-blocked their opponents in 18 of their 24 matches. In Friday's sweep of Oakland, the Flames set a new season high as a team, tallying 16 total blocks, tying the eighth-highest team block total in single-game history.

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 2.31 kills per set, while Ndekwe averages 1.52 kills per set, and the pair also makes up UIC's two most efficient attackers, hitting .301 and .239, respectively.

Glover leads the Horizon League and ranks 10th in the nation in total blocks, racking up 114 stops this season, 13 more than any other player around the League. Her 1.30 blocks per set ranks paces the conference and comes in at 29th nationwide. Offensively, Glover's .299 hitting puts her at second in the conference.

Ndekwe had a well-rounded performance this weekend, tallying both offensive and defensive career highs while being honored on her own senior day. On Friday, Ndekwe matched her personal best in total blocks, making eight stops for the defense. The senior finished Saturday's match against Youngstown State with a career-high .750 hitting percentage, putting down 10 kills while making only one error on 12 swings.

LET ME ASSIST YOU
UIC's 12.52 assists per set comes in at second in the Horizon League, 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 ninth, respectively. Both setters also contribute on the defensive end as well, as Borcic averages 2.19 digs per set and Musante averages 2.16 per set. The tandem leads the squad in double-doubles, as Musante owns six and Borcic owns five so far this season.

HICKS TRICKS
Junior Alexandria Hicks has become a big impact player for the Flames this season, leading UIC's offense with 2.38 kills per set. Hicks has brought in double-digit kill efforts on eight occasions this year, reaching her season-high total of 18 on two occasions (at Idaho and at Cleveland State). The junior is hitting an efficient .221 on the season, and has also made contributions on defense, averaging 0.81 blocks per set.  

NEW TO THE SQUAD
The Flames brought on board only one newcomer for the 2019 season, Texas A&M transfer Brookah Palmer. 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 2.54 kills per set, 1.66 digs per set and she owns the second-most service aces on the squad with 15. The redshirt senior has three double-doubles on the season, at Idaho (23 kills, 10 digs), vs. Wright State (14 kills, 10 digs) and at Cleveland State (11 kills, 12 digs).  

WHERE WE RANK
UIC remains in a tie for third place in the League, owning a 7-3 record in Horizon League action. Milwaukee has the number one spot at 9-1, followed by Green Bay at 8-2. The Flames currently hold the tiebreaker over Wright State, having won the earlier meeting between the two teams, 3-0. Statistically, UIC's offense is averaging 13.73 kills per set and 12.52 assists per set, putting it at second in the Horizon League in both categories. As a squad, the Flames are hitting .203, putting them at fourth in the conference. Defensively, UIC leads the League in total blocks (226), as well as blocks per set (2.57), while it also ranks fifth in the conference in digs with an average of 17.30 per set.

PAOLA'S POWER
Sophomore Paola Santiago has been an anchor for the UIC offense, averaging 2.25 kills per set. 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 third most on the team.

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 (2.25 per set), Kiera James (2.34 per set), Michelle Glover (2.31 per set), Alexandria Hicks (2.38 per set) and Brookah Palmer (2.54 per set). Together they make up 77 percent of UIC's kills, as each attacker owns nearly 200 or more successful attacks on the 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
IUPUI looks to snap an eight-match losing streak, as it sits in a tie for seventh with a 2-8 record in conference play. The Jags serve up the third-most service aces in the League, averaging 1.42 aces per set as a team. IUPUI also ranks seventh in the conference in blocks, owning an average of 2.07 blocks per set. Haley Hoffman is the Jags' most efficient attacker, hitting .285 to come in at seventh in the League, while Mckayla Wright leads the team in kills, averaging 2.93 per set to rank eighth in the conference. Hoffman is also IUPUI's top blocker, averaging 1.24 denials per set, while Rachel Hickey takes care of digs for the Jags, averaging 4.11 per set to sit at seventh in the League. UIC is 9-3 all-time against IUPUI after taking the Oct. 19 match between the two teams by a final tally of 3-1.

Northern Kentucky's 4-6 record in conference play lands it in sixth place in the conference standings. The Norse are the League's top team in service aces, averaging 1.56 aces per set. NKU's offense is hitting .205, landing it in a tie for second, while defensively it also ranks second in digs, averaging 17.76 per set. Additionally, the Norse come in at fourth in assists (12.21 per set), kills (13.09 per set) and blocks (2.42 per set). Anna Brinkmann leads NKU's offensive efforts, averaging 2.95 kills per set, while Ashton Terrill leads the defense in digs, averaging 4.90 per set. UIC improved to 3-6 all-time versus the Norse after outlasting them in five sets back on Oct. 18.