MILWAUKEE – The UIC volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to stun the top-seeded and Horizon League regular season champion Milwaukee Panthers, 3-2, Saturday evening in the semifinals of the Horizon League Volleyball Championship.
With the win, UIC advances to its second-straight Horizon League Championship match and fourth in program history.
The Flames, who had no answer for the Milwaukee attack in the first two sets, rallied to win the third and fourth sets to force a decisive fifth set. In the final frame, UIC found itself in a 10-6 hole before winning the next nine points to complete the comeback.
Paola Santiago recorded her eighth double-double in a row with a match-high 24 kills to go along with 10 digs.
Martina Delucchi also added a double-double in Saturday's victory with 11 kills and 11 digs.
Sohila Wafeek dished out 51 assists while
Jaclyn Oblena anchored the back line with a match-leading 22 digs.
Milwaukee could not be stopped in the first two sets, picking up 25-15 and 25-11 victories to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. As a team, the Panthers hit at a .615 percentage in the opening set before following it up with a .517 percentage in the second set, recording 33 kills and just two attack errors.
UIC began to turn the momentum in the third set, jumping out to a 7-4 lead and forcing a timeout by the Panthers. The Flames maintained at least a three-point lead for the remainder of the set to claim the 25-21 victory.
It was more of the same in the fourth set as UIC used a 6-1 scoring run to take a 7-3 lead. The two teams would trade points back and forth until three consecutive Flames points pushed the advantage to 21-14. Leading 23-16, Milwaukee scored four in a row to cut UIC's lead to three, but a
Becca Oldendorf kill sealed the 25-21 victory and push things to a fifth and final set.
In the deciding set, Milwaukee used a 5-1 run to take a 10-6 lead following a Madi Malone kill. The Panther point would be the final point the hosts would score, as the Flames reeled off nine unanswered points to claim the 15-10 victory. After picking up the first point on Milwaukee's serve, Oblena served up eight straight points, including an ace, to send the Flames to the championship match.
UIC will face No. 2 Northern Kentucky on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m. The Norse knocked out third-seeded Wright State, also in five sets.
News and Notes
- After Milwaukee hit at a .615 and .517 percentage in the first two sets, UIC limited the Panther attack to .162, .184 and .100 hitting percentages in the final three sets.
- Milwaukee committed just two attack errors in the first two sets before tallying 15 in the final three sets.
- UIC's defense stepped up down the stretch, recording eight of its nine blocks in the final three frames.
- Salma Abdelhady had a flawless night on the attack, finishing third on the team with nine kills while committing no errors.
- UIC saved its best hitting percentage of the night for the fifth set, where the Flames connected at a .400 hitting percentage.
