CHICAGO – UIC's Paola Santiago was recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), as the organization announced its All-Region honorees for the 2021 season.
 
Santiago, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was named honorable mention to the North All-Region Team for the second consecutive year. The North Region is comprised of schools located in Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, Illinois, Oklahoma and Michigan. Joining Santiago on the North Region list was Milwaukee's Ari Miller, who was named First Team North All-Region.
 
Wright State's Jenna Story and Northern Kentucky's Anna Brinkman earned honorable mention honors in the Northeast Region.
 
Santiago helped lead the Flames to new heights in 2021, guiding the team to its first-ever Horizon League Championship (second conference title in program history) and first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament where the Flames drew top-seeded Louisville in the opening round.
 
Including the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Santiago ranks first in the Horizon League and 30^th nationally with 465 kills while her 531.5 points accounted for ranks tops in the League and 30^th in the country.
 
The outside hitter tallied a team-leading 17 double-doubles on the year, including 13 against Horizon League opponents. Santiago set a new career high with 27 kills in the Flames' Horizon League quarterfinal victory over Green Bay and recorded 10 or more kills in 27-of-32 matches this season.
 
Santiago set a career high with five services aces twice this season, in UIC's season opener against Bowling Green and again in a win over IUPUI. She added a career-best 29.5 points in UIC's thrilling Horizon League semifinal victory over top-seeded Milwaukee with 24 kills, four aces and three assisted blocks.