CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team will be making its 2020-21 spring season debut as it welcomes Horizon League newcomer Purdue Fort Wayne to Chicago for a pair of matches. The Flames and Mastodons will kick off the season inside the Flames Athletic Center on Monday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. CT before wrapping up the series on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 4 p.m.

LOOKING BACK
The 2019 Flames squad was the first to reach 20 wins since 2002, finishing the season with a 20-11 record overall and a 9-7 record in Horizon League play. Defensively, the 2019 Flames ranked third in the Horizon League in opponent hitting percentage, holding their opposition to .180 hitting on the season. Last year's squad finished second in the conference in blocks, making an average of 2.50 stops per set in 2019. UIC also ended 2019 third in the League in service aces allowed (1.04 per set) and opponent digs (16.07 per set). Offensively, the Flames hit .193 as a squad in 2019, good for sixth in the conference. UIC also finished fifth in both kills (13.31 per set) and assists (12.22 per set) in their last campaign.

BACK IN THE LINEUP
Back in the lineup for the Flames this season is junior Michelle Glover, who led the squad with 265 kills and 145 blocks in 2019 to earn a spot on the Horizon League First Team. Also returning for the Flames this season is senior Alexandria Hicks, who averaged 2.20 kills per set and 0.72 blocks per set for the Flames in 2019.

Junior Paola Santiago will also be returning for the Flames after averaging 2.10 kills per set and 2.35 digs per set with five double-doubles in 2019. On the defensive side, junior Velina Minkova is back in the lineup after serving as the Flames' primary libero in 2019 with a team-high 4.03 digs per set.

NEW ADDITIONS
UIC's roster has 13 new additions, 12 of which are true freshman. Mikala Henderson, Taylor O'Malley, Jaclyn Oblena, Martina Delucchi, Sohila Wafeek, Zahria Woodard, Liza Garrido, Becca Oldendorf, Jackie Yau, Abigail Sunga, Amelia Sunga and America Galvan will all be kicking off their collegiate careers with the Flames while senior Morgan Kull joins UIC after three seasons at Auburn.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
The Flames' roster boasts lots of talent from around the world, with five of its players hailing from outside of the United States. Senior Alexandra Drosopoulou is native of Thessaloniki, Greece, while fellow upper classman Velina Minkova hails from Sofia, Bulgaria. Freshmen Martina Delucchi (La Plata) and Liza Garrido (Cordoba) both made their way to Chicago from Argentina, while newcomer Sohila Wafeek calls Cairo, Egypt, home.

LOCAL TALENT
In addition to its international talents, the Flames also have several players on the roster local to Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. Freshman Jackie Yau is a Chicago native, while fellow freshmen Taylor O'Malley (Naperville, Ill.), Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill.), Jaclyn Oblena (Orland Park, Ill.) and Becca Oldendorf (Lockport, Ill.) are all suburban natives. Juniors Michelle Glover (Wheaton, Ill) and Michelle Glover (Lisle, Ill.), as well as senior transfer Morgan Kull (St. Charles, Ill.) all hail from the western suburbs.

FAN ATTENDANCE
At this time, UIC will not host fans for home matches at the Flames Athletic Center due to current public health regulations. Flames fans can watch UIC volleyball matches on the ESPN family of networks, as in past years.

SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
Horizon League newcomer Purdue Fort Wayne finished the 2019 season with an 18-15 mark overall and an 11-5 record in Summit League play to earn a postseason berth into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). All-Summit League Team honorable mention Sydney Boerst returns for the Mastodons this season, as well as All-Freshman Team honoree Sidney Schiller and All-Freshman Team honorable mention Rachael Crucis.