CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (11-1) will head to Cincinnati, Ohio to take on Big East-foe Xavier (4-5) in a rare non-conference battle. The Flames and Musketeers will meet on Monday, March 15, with first serve set for 2 p.m. CT inside Xavier's Cintas Center.

LOOKING BACK
UIC completed its fifth series sweep of the season last week, taking down Green Bay 3-1 on Monday (March 8) before closing out the two-game set with a 3-0 sweep of the Pheonix on Tuesday (March 9). The wins allowed the Flames to finish with a perfect 8-0 record at home in the regular season, and their 11 conference wins so far are the most since joining the Horizon League. UIC's 11 conference wins also ties the most league wins in program history, after the 1993 Flames also won 11 conference matches as members of the Mid-Continent Conference.

OFFENSIVE PROWESS
UIC's offense stands at one of the best in the nation, ranking 24th in the nation in kills per set, averaging 14.25 terminations per set as a team. UIC also ranks 23rd in the nation in assists per set, averaging 13.20 helpers per set as a squad, thanks in large part to setter Morgan Kull, who leads the Flames with 9.95 assists per set. UIC's offense also comes in at 41st in the nation in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .251 as a team.

The 2020-21 Flames have already posted two of the top-10 single-game hitting percentages all-time this season, recording the eighth highest single-game attack percentage in program history on Jan. 25 against Purdue Fort Wayne (.400) and the 10th-highest single game attack percentage on Feb. 9 against Youngstown State (.380).

HORIZON LEAGUE ROUNDUP
UIC's 11-1 record in Horizon League puts them at second in the conference, just one spot behind conference-leader Wright State. The Flames' offense sits at the top of the League, ranking second in hitting percentage (.251), assists (13.20 per set) and kills (14.25 per set). UIC also ranks second in the League in service aces, averaging 1.73 per set, while limiting its opposition to a conference-low 0.70 aces per set.On the defensive side, UIC ranks third in opponent hitting percentage (.175), fourth in digs (17.25 per set) and fourth in blocks (1.95 per set).

Individually, Becca Oldendorf stands as the League's runner up in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .329. Alexandria Hicks follows in seventh, hitting .286 on the season so far. Kull ranks second the League in assists, dishing out an average of 9.95 helpers per set, and she also comes in at second in the Horizon League in service aces, averaging 0.50 aces per set. In kills, Paola Santiago ranks third, averaging 3.52 terminations per set.

PAOLA'S POWER
Junior Paola Santiago repeated as Horizon League Player of the Week on Feb. 4, 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 (Feb. 1) 3-1 win, Santiago hauled in her second double-double of the season, leading UIC with 18 kills and 12 digs. On Tuesday (Feb. 2), 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 on Jan. 25 with 15 kills and 10 digs. The junior has paced UIC in kills in seven matches so far this season.

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 MUSKETEERS
Xavier is 4-5 on the season with a 1-1 mark in Big East action, most recently taking a 3-0 loss to Dayton. Delaney Hogan does it all for the Musketeers, averaging 2.62 kills per set to lead the team. Hogan is also Xavier's most efficient attacker, hitting at a .379 clip so far this season, and she is also their top blocker, averaging 0.92 stops per set. On the defensive end, Alyssa Overbeck leads the squad in digs, averaging 4.59 digs per set. The Flames and Musketeers have an even 2-2 split in the series all-time, but the Musketeers took the win the last time the two teams met, defeating the Flames 3-1 back on August 25, 2017.