UIC Athletics

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Coming off its first Horizon League defeat of the season last time out, the UIC volleyball team rebounded with a 3-1 road win at Cleveland State Sunday (Oct. 10) afternoon.
 
Martina Delucchi played a pivotal role in the contest, finishing with 17 kills and 14 digs for her 10^th double-double of the year and third in the Flames' last four contests. Jaclyn Oblena had her second 20+ dig performance of the season with a match-high 22 while Sohila Wafeek dished out 42 assists on the afternoon.
 
The Flames jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the match with a dominating 25-13 victory in the opening set before the Vikings evened the match with a 25-18 decision in the second. Extra points were needed in the third set, with UIC squeezing out a 28-26 decision to get within a set of victory. The Vikings appeared to be in a position to force a fifth set after jumping out to a 9-1 lead but the Flames rallied late for the 25-20 victory.
 
UIC wraps up its three-match roadtrip on Tuesday at Milwaukee. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.
 
How It Happened

• CSU jumped out to a 7-5 lead in the opening set before the Flames ran away with the first-set victory. A Delucchi kill opened up a 10-run which featured four Delucchi kills and a pair of aces by Mikala Henderson. The Flames would cruise the rest of the way, securing the 25-13 victory.
• The Vikings once again took an early advantage, this time building a 6-1 lead in the second set and forcing a UIC timeout. Cleveland State maintained at least a four-point cushion and used a late 5-0 run to pull away and even things up at 1 set apiece.
• It was a back-and-forth battle in the third set with each team holding slim leads. UIC built the biggest lead of the set at 20-16 after an ace by Abigail Sunga, but Cleveland State fought off a pair of set points to tie things up at 24-all. The teams would trade points until a Paola Santiago kill and a Viking error gave UIC a 2-1 lead with a 28-26 victory.
• For the third time Sunday, Cleveland State opened a set on a streak, building a 9-1 advantage in the fourth set. The Vikings would maintain their lead, with UIC slowly chipping away before an 8-2 Flames run tied the set up at 20-all. UIC's run continued through the end of the match as the Flames scored the final five points to claim the 25-20 decision and the 3-1 victory in the match.

 
Facts and Figures

• UIC dominated at the service line, dishing out 11 aces to Cleveland State's three
• The Flames were able to overcome a stout front line for the Vikings, who owned a 10-4 advantage in blocks.
• Wafeek was the second UIC player to have a double-double Sunday, adding 11 digs to go along with her 42 assists.