YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The UIC volleyball team (12-5, 1-2 HL) captured its first Horizon League win of the season on Friday night in sweeping fashion, defeating Youngstown State (6-10, 0-3 HL) by a final tally of 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-23).

The Flames offense hit .250 (45k-16e-116a) on the night, marking their most efficient performance as a squad since Sept. 14 against Sacramento State.

Match Highlights
Set One

• Early errors plagued the Flames, giving Youngstown State a 15-13 lead.
• Following the media timeout, UIC regrouped and took seven of the next eight for a comfortable 20-16 lead.
• The Penguins collected a pair of kills, but four-straight YSU errors put UIC at set point, 24-18.
• Youngstown State chipped in another kill, but a buried feed from Brookah Palmer finished the set with a win for the Flames, 25-19.

Set Two

• The Flames dominated early, going off on a 3-0 run for a 15-11 lead at the media break.
• The Penguins came back with three points of their own to come within one, 15-14, but three consecutive terminations from Emily Kelly put UIC back up by four, 18-14.
• The lead proved too large for Youngstown State to overcome, as UIC ran away with a 25-16 victory.

Set Three

• UIC grabbed an early lead, grabbing the first eight points unanswered.
• The Flames' lead extended to 11, 13-2, after kills from Alexandria Hicks and Kelly.
• UIC led by 10, 18-8, when a late offensive surge for the Penguins put them within one, 21-20.
• A termination from Michell Glover put UIC up by a pair, 22-20, but the Penguins answered with a kill to pull back within one, 22-21.
• A YSU service error gave the Flames a break, but it recovered on the next serve with a kill, 23-22.
• A penguin attack error put UIC one away from the win, but YSU would not go down without a fight, burying another feed to keep it within one, 24-23.
• Kiera James stepped in for the Flames, finding a hole in the Penguin system to give UIC the set and the sweep, 25-23.

Facts & Figures

• Emily Kelly led all attackers with a career-high 14 kills. The sophomore hit an efficient .323 (14k-4e-31a) in the personal-best performance.
• Brookah Palmer was error free, hitting .409 with nine kills.
• Alexandria Hicks turned in seven kills for the offense, making just one error for a .375 attack percentage on the night.
• Manuela Conte led UIC with nine digs, while Marija Borcic and Paola Santiago contributed six apiece.
• Borcic led the match with 29 assists. Lauren Musante dished out 11 assists for the offense.
• UIC held the advantage in kills, 45-37, but the Penguins came out on top in digs (43-40) as well as blocks (4.0-2.0).

Up Next

• UIC will finish out its first Horizon League road trip tomorrow at Oakland. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.