MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Behind a career night from freshman Salma Abdelhady, the UIC volleyball team capped off the regular season with a thrilling five-set victory over Robert Morris Friday evening on the road.
 
With the 3-2 victory, the Flames have now won four consecutive matches and nine of their last 10 contests heading into the Horizon League Championship. UIC is guaranteed a top-4 finish in the league, with final seedings being announced following the completion of other matches around the League this weekend.
 
Abdelhady entered Friday's match with a career-high eight kills, which she recorded Thursday evening at Youngstown State, before exploding for a match-high 24 kills on an impressive .455 attack percentage. The 6-foot-10 right side hitter from Egypt added four digs and assisted on four blocks in the match.
 
Two other Flames, Paola Santiago and Becca Oldendorf, finished with 10+ kills as Santiago recorded 18 kills to go along with 13 digs for a double-double while Oldendorf added 11 kills. Sohila Wafeek dished out 58 assists while adding 10 digs to be the second Flame to finish with a double-double. Jaclyn Oblena led the defensive effort with a team-leading 17 digs.
 
After dropping the first set, 25-22, UIC found itself in a 24-22 hole in the second set. The Flames battled back to 24-all before the teams went back-and-forth, with UIC ultimately prevailing by a 34-32 margin. UIC used the momentum to cruise to a 25-14 third-set victory to go up 2-1. Robert Morris evened things with a 25-22 decision in the fourth before the Flames ran away with the decisive fifth set, 15-9.
 
UIC will await to learn its quarterfinal opponent in the Horizon League Championship, with the match scheduled for Friday, Nov. 19, hosted by the regular season champion.
 
News and Notes

• Abdelhady's 24 kills are tied for the third-most by a UIC player this season.
• Martina Delucchi finished second on the team with 15 digs to go along with a team-best three aces.
• UIC had a dominating .526 hitting percentage in the fifth set.
• The second set alone had 25 ties and six lead changes.