CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (8-2) will welcome city rival Chicago State to the Flames Athletic Center on Tuesday, Sept. 17. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT.

HOT START
UIC is off to its best start under head coach Justin Ingram, posting an 8-2 record through its first 10 contest. The Flames went 2-1 this weekend at their home invitational, taking a 3-1 win over Bradley on Friday, falling 3-1 against Murray State on Saturday and sweeping Sacramento State in the tournament finale.

PAOLA'S POWER
Sophomore Paola Santiago has been an anchor for the UIC offense, averaging 2.74 kills per set to lead the squad. The sophomore was named 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. Against NDSU, Santiago tallied 16 kills and was one dig shy of a double-double with nine. The sophomore went on to lead all attackers in UIC's 3-0 win against Eastern Illinois, recording 11 kills. In their final match of the weekend against host Central Michigan, Santiago brought in seven kills and eight digs, in route to UIC's second sweep of the weekend.

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 2.18 kills per set, while Ndekwe averages 1.38 kills per set, and the pair makes up two of UIC's most efficient attackers, hitting .261 and .246, respectively. The duo also leads the Flames in blocks, as Glover stops an average of 1.28 per set, followed by Ndekwe's 0.87 per set. Glover averaged 1.82 blocks across UIC's 11 sets this past weekend, tallying a season-best eight stops on Saturday against Sacramento State, whle Ndekwe represented UIC on the tournament team this weekend behind .371 (18k-5e-35e) hitting and averaging 1.18 blocks 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 over two kills per set in Paola Santiago (2.74 per set), Kiera James (2.32 per set), Michelle Glover (2.18 per set), Alexandria Hicks (2.03 per set) and Brookah Palmer (2.79 pet set). Together UIC's offense is averaging 13.26 kills per set, hitting .214 as a squad this season.

NEW TO THE SQUAD
The Flames welcomed 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. In her first weekend as a Flame, Palmer averaged 3.72 kills per set and recorded her first double-double of the season with 23 kills and 10 digs in the Idaho Volleyball Classic finale against Idaho. The redshirt senior turned in another impressive at Central Michigan, leading all attackers with 11 kills while also turning in four service aces.

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). Sophomores Marija Borcic and Lauren Musante both return in the setter position, tallying 999 assists and 330 assists in 2018, respectively.

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
Chicago State is 3-7 through its first 10 matches, following an 0-3 showing at the Valley Forge Sports Invitational this past weekend. The Cougars fell 3-1 to St. Francis College and 3-2 to host Penn on Friday before wrapping up the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Duquesne. The Flames have the advantage all-time against the Cougars, 19-1, after Chicago State grabbed its first win over UIC last season, 3-0, on its own turf back on Sept. 4, 2018.