CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (20-8, 9-5 HL) will wrap up the regular season on the road this week, taking on two of the League's top three teams. The Flames' first stop will be at Green Bay (19-7, 11-3 HL) on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. CT. UIC's trip wraps up on Friday, Nov. 15 against Milwaukee (23-5, 10-4 HL). First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Flames were bested on the road on Friday by League-leading Wright State, 3-1. UIC returned home on Sunday to the Flames Athletic Center for a thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Cleveland State. The Flames' win over the Vikings was their 20th of the season, marking the program's first 20-win season since 2002.

MONSTER BLOCK
The Flames have had a huge presence at the net this season, tallying 263 total blocks as a squad to rank 11th in the nation. UIC averages 2.50 blocks per set as a team, a mark which ranks second in the Horizon League and ranks 39th in the nation. The Flames' big hands have stopped ten or more on 14 occasions, with four of those occasions coming in at 14 or more, and they have out-blocked their opponents in 20 of their 28 matches.

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 2.34 kills per set, while Ndekwe averages 1.48 kills per set, and the pair also makes up UIC's two most efficient attackers, hitting .303 and .234, respectively.

Glover leads the Horizon League and ranks 10th in the nation in total blocks, racking up 135 stops this season, 19 more than any other player around the League. Glover's .303 hitting ranks second in the League, as she is one of just two players hitting over .300.

LET ME ASSIST YOU
UIC's 12.33 assists per set comes in at fourth 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 sixth and ninth, respectively. Both setters also contribute on the defensive end as well, averaging over two digs per set apiece. The tandem leads the squad in double-doubles, as Musante owns seven and Borcic owns six after handing out 35 assists and making 12 digs against Cleveland State on Sunday.

HICKS TRICKS
Junior Alexandria Hicks has become a big impact player for the Flames this season, averaging 2.24 kills per set. Hicks has brought in double-digit kill efforts on nine occasions this year, including a team-high 10 kills on Friday at Wright State. The junior is hitting an efficient .206 on the season, and has also made contributions on defense, averaging 0.75 blocks per set. 

PAOLA'S POWER
Sophomore Paola Santiago has been an anchor for the UIC offense, averaging 2.21 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 2.30 digs per set, good for third most on the team. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native collected her fifth double-double of the season in Sunday's win over Cleveland State, tallying 16 kills and 10 digs, marking her second-straight week turning in a double-double performance.  

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 2.45 kills per set, 1.71 digs per set and she owns the third-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 holds on to its spot in fourth place in the conference, owning a two-game lead over both Northern Kentucky and Oakland. Statistically, UIC's offense is averaging 13.44 kills per set to come in at third in the League. The Flames also rank fourth in assists (12.33 per set) and sixth in both hitting percentage (.197) and digs (16.98 per set). Defensively, UIC leads the League in total blocks (263), owning 18 more blocks than any other team in the conference.

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 (2.21 per set), Kiera James (2.33 per set), Michelle Glover (2.34 per set), Alexandria Hicks (2.24 per set) and Brookah Palmer (2.45 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. On Sunday against Cleveland State, the Flames had five players reach double figures in kills: Glover (17), Santiago (16), James (11), Tatyana Ndekwe (10) and Emily Kelly (10).

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
Green Bay is in a tie for first alongside Wright State, owning an 11-3 mark in conference action and splitting the season series with the Raiders. The Phoenix picked up a pair of sweeps this weekend, toppling Youngstown State at home and IUPUI out on the road. UIC is 37-28 all-time against Green Bay after dropping a close 3-2 decision at home earlier this season.

Milwaukee is in third in the conference rankings with a 10-4 record in Horizon League play, falling to both Oakland and Northern Kentucky this weekend by identical 3-1 tallies. UIC is 24-45 all-time against the Panthers after it was handed a 3-0 loss back on Sept. 28 at home.