CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (4-0) will look to continue its four-game winning streak this week as it travels to Youngstown State (2-2) for a pair of matches against the Penguins. The two teams will face off on Monday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. CT as well as on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 4 p.m. Both matches will be played inside the Penguins' Beeghly Center.

LOOKING BACK
UIC finished off its season-opening homestand with another series sweep, taking care of Horizon League newcomer Robert Morris 3-1 on Monday (Feb. 1) before closing out the series with a 3-0 sweep on Tuesday (Feb. 2). In Monday's win, Paola Santiago (18 kills, 12 digs) and Martina Delucchi (12 kills, 21 digs) led the way for the Flames, each recording a double-double in the victory.

On Tuesday, the Flames picked up their fourth-straight win after dominating wins in sets one and two and a come-from-behind win in set three. Becca Oldendorf and Alexandria Hicks led UIC's offensive efforts with nine kills apiece. Both also finished with just one error on the night, hitting .500 (9k-1e-16a) and .471 (9k-1e-17a), respectively.

OFFENSIVE PROWESS
Two weeks into the season, UIC's offense stands at one of the best in the nation, ranking third in the nation in kills per set, averaging 15.43 terminations per set as a team. UIC also ranks fifth in the nation in assists per set, averaging 14.21 helpers per set as a squad, thanks in large part to setter Morgan Kull, who ranks third in the nation individually with 12.50 assists per set.
UIC's offense also comes in at 11th in the nation in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .313 as a team. Freshman Becca Oldendorf leads the way in that category, hitting .415 individually to rank 39th in the nation. Zahria Woodard also makes the nation's top-100, ranking 73rd with a .378 hitting percentage.

HORIZON LEAGUE ROUNDUP
UIC joins Wright State at the top of the Horizon League standings with a perfect 4-0 record. The Flames' high-powered offense sits atop the conference, ranking first in hitting percentage (.313), assists (14.21 per set) and kills (15.43). UIC also ranks third in the League in service aces, averaging 1.79 per set, while limiting its opposition to a conference-low 0.36 aces per set. The Flames additionally rank fifth in both opponent hitting percentage (.175) and digs (17.14 per set), and they also come in at fourth in the League in blocks (2.00 per set).

Individually, Becca Oldendorf's .415 hitting percentage stands at third in the League, while Zahria Woodard follows her in sixth, hitting .378 on the season so far. Kull paces the League in assists, dishing out an average of 12.50 helpers per set, and she also comes in at seventh in the Horizon League in service aces, averaging 0.50 aces per set. In kills, Paola Santiago ranks third in the conference, averaging 3.57 terminations per set. Santiago also tallies the second-most points in the League, averaging 4.21 points per set.

PAOLA'S POWER
Junior Paola Santiago repeated as Horizon League Player of the Week this week, averaging 3.71 kills per set and 2.29 digs per set across UIC's two wins over Robert Morris. The junior also brought in three blocks and a trio of service aces in the two-game series. In Monday's 3-1 win, Santiago hauled in her second double-double of the season, leading UIC with 18 kills and 12 digs. On Tuesday, Santiago contributed eight kills, four digs and a pair of blocks as the Flames silenced the Colonials, 3-0.

Santiago also picked up one of the first Horizon League Volleyball Player of the Week awards of the season on Jan. 28 after a standout performance in UIC's season-opening series against Purdue Fort Wayne. The junior averaged 3.43 kills per set, 3.71 digs per set and 1.00 blocks per set across the two games and recorded her first double-double of the season in on Jan. 25 with 15 kills and 10 digs.

BACK IN THE LINEUP
Back in the lineup for the Flames this season is junior Michelle Glover, who led the squad with 265 kills and 145 blocks in 2019 to earn a spot on the Horizon League First Team. Also returning for the Flames this season is senior Alexandria Hicks, who averaged 2.20 kills per set and 0.72 blocks per set for the Flames in 2019.

Junior Paola Santiago will also be returning for the Flames after averaging 2.10 kills per set and 2.35 digs per set with five double-doubles in 2019. On the defensive side, junior Velina Minkova is back in the lineup after serving as the Flames' primary libero in 2019 with a team-high 4.03 digs per set.

NEW ADDITIONS
UIC's roster has 13 new additions, 12 of which are true freshman. Mikala Henderson, Taylor O'Malley, Jaclyn Oblena, Martina Delucchi, Sohila Wafeek, Zahria Woodard, Liza Garrido, Becca Oldendorf, Jackie Yau, Abigail Sunga, Amelia Sunga and America Galvan will all be kicking off their collegiate careers with the Flames while senior Morgan Kull joins UIC after three seasons at Auburn.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
The Flames' roster boasts lots of talent from around the world, with five of its players hailing from outside of the United States. Senior Alexandra Drosopoulou is native of Thessaloniki, Greece, while fellow upper classman Velina Minkova hails from Sofia, Bulgaria. Freshmen Martina Delucchi (La Plata) and Liza Garrido (Cordoba) both made their way to Chicago from Argentina, while newcomer Sohila Wafeek calls Cairo, Egypt, home.

LOCAL TALENT
In addition to its international talents, the Flames also have several players on the roster local to Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. Freshman Jackie Yau is a Chicago native, while fellow freshmen Taylor O'Malley (Naperville, Ill.), Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill.), Jaclyn Oblena (Orland Park, Ill.) and Becca Oldendorf (Lockport, Ill.) are all suburban natives. Juniors Michelle Glover (Wheaton, Ill) and Francesca Wagoner (Lisle, Ill.), as well as senior transfer Morgan Kull (St. Charles, Ill.) all hail from the western suburbs.

FAN ATTENDANCE
At this time, UIC will not host fans for home matches at the Flames Athletic Center due to current public health regulations. Flames fans can watch UIC volleyball matches on the ESPN family of networks, as in past years.

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State is 2-2 on the season after taking a pair of 3-0 losses to Purdue Fort Wayne last week. Josi Borum leads the Penguins' offensive efforts, averaging 2.93 kills per set to place 10th in the Horizon League. Margaux Thompson paces the Penguin defense with an average of 2.73 digs per set, while Aimee Beaupre handles the blocking for Youngstown State, averaging 0.73 stops per set. The Flames own a 34-12 advantage all-time over YSU, winning the last six-consecutive meetings between the two teams.