CHICAGO – After a hard-fought first two sets, the UIC volleyball team used a dominating third set to run away with a 3-0 sweep over Oakland Friday (Nov. 5) evening inside the Flames Athletic Center.
 
After pulling away late for a 25-21 victory in the opening set, the Flames needed extra points to secure a 26-24. Sitting in front with a 2-0 lead, the Flame stormed out to an 8-2 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 25-8 victory to claim the 3-0 sweep.
 
Paola Santiago recorded yet another double-double with 14 kills and a team-high 12 digs. Sohila Wafeek dished out a match-best 34 assists to pace the setting attack and UIC's offense served up seven aces in the match.
 
UIC dominated offensively, hitting .321 for the match while limiting the Golden Grizzlies to a .091 hitting percentage. In the third set alone, UIC's defense limited Oakland to a -.087 hitting percentage.
 
Tied at 20-all in the opening set, an Oakland service error gave the Flames a 21-20 lead. UIC would go on to score four of the next five points to close out the 25-21 victory, with Mikala Henderson's kill putting an exclamation point on the opening set.
 
The second set was pushed to extra points and featured 13 ties and six lead changes. UIC had a set point at 24-23, but a kill by Oakland's Jamie Walling evened things up at 24-all. Zahria Woodard put down a kill to give UIC a 25-24 lead and an error by the visitors clinched the set for UIC to go up 2-0 in the match.
 
Holding a commanding 2-0 lead, the Flames jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the third set, forcing Oakland to call both of its timeouts. The lead was more than enough as the Flames cruised to a 25-8 victory an close out the match sweep.
 
The Flames return to action on Sunday, playing host to Cleveland State. Sunday's match will be Senior Day, with UIC honoring Morgan Kull following the match.