LOUISVILLE – The UIC volleyball team made program history Friday (Dec. 3) evening, competing in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Flames, making their-first ever appearance in the national tournament, drew top-seeded and undefeated Louisville in the opening round and ultimately fell to the Cardinals by a 3-0 score inside Louisville's L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
 
"We knew that Louisville was going to be tough coming in, with an undefeated season and absolutely had a tremendous conference year as well," said head coach Justin Ingram. "We knew coming in that they were going to pose some challenges for us that were different than in the Horizon League. Our Horizon League season was competitive, and we had a hard-fought conference tournament that allowed us this opportunity to be here (in the NCAA Tournament). And we're absolutely ecstatic that we were here and sent to Louisville. There was tremendous support, and they have tremendous facilities to be able to play in front of a crowd that was certainly pro-volleyball, so it was a lot of fun for all of us."
 
Becca Oldendorf led the way with a team-leading seven kills on a .312 hitting percentage. Paola Santiago and Salma Abdelhady had six kills each while Martina Delucchi added five. Sohila Wafeek dished out a team-best 20 assists while Santiago led the defensive efforts with seven digs along the back line.
 
Louisville came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, taking the opening set by a 25-11 margin. The Cardinals did not commit a single attack error in the opening frame to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.
 
As they've done all year, the Flames battled back and pushed Louisville to the brink in the second set. The Horizon League champions hung within four points of the Cardinals throughout the set before using a 3-0 run to even the score at 17-all and force a Louisville timeout. Coming out the break, Mikala Henderson and Zahria Woodard teamed up on a massive block to give the Flames the one-point lead at 18-17. Four consecutive points by Louisville gave the hosts the 21-18 lead. UIC would get back within two at 22-20 but were unable to climb any closer, dropping the set by a 25-20 score.
 
"I thought UIC was really good and impressive, they're one of the best passing teams that we've played, so I was just impressed with the way they competed and how they played," said Louisville head coach Dani Busboom Kelly.
 
Louisville jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead in the third set and never looked back, taking the 25-11 decision to close out the match.
 
Friday's match capped a season in which the Flames won their second-ever conference championship, first-ever Horizon League title and securing the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament.