CHICAGO – The No. 2-seeded UIC volleyball team (13-2, 13-1 HL) will begin its journey to the Horizon League Championship on Sunday, March 28 as it hosts the No. 3 seed Northern Kentucky (9-4, 8-4 HL) in the Horizon League Semifinals. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT inside the Flames Athletic Center, and the match will also be streamed on ESPN+.

LOOKING BACK
UIC finished out the regular season in sweeping fashion, taking a pair of 3-0 sweeps over IUPUI on Monday (March 22) in a rare doubleheader. The Flames' first 3-0 sweep of the day was their 12th conference win of the season, setting a new record for the program, while the second sweep of the day further extended the record.

Junior Paola Santiago picked up her third Horizon League Player of the Week award of the season on Thursday after hitting .357 across both matches, averaging 4.67 kills per set and 3.17 digs per set in the doubleheader.

TAKING HOME THE HARDWARE
The Horizon League announced its postseason awards on Friday, and the Flames were well represented, taking home seven awards in total. Head coach Justin Ingram was named Co-Coach of the Year for the first time in his career, picking up the award alongside Wright State's head coach Allie Matters. Becca Oldendorf was named Freshman of the Year, and she also earned a spot on both the All-League Second Team and the All-Freshman Team. Santiago was named to the All-League First team, while freshmen Martina Delucchi and Jaclyn Oblena joined Oldendorf on the All-Freshman Team.

OFFENSIVE PROWESS
UIC's offense stands at one of the best in the nation, ranking 11th in the nation in kills per set, averaging 14.39 terminations per set as a team. UIC also ranks 10th in the nation in assists per set, averaging 13.35 helpers per set as a squad and 46th in the nation in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .249 as a team.

The 2020-21 Flames have 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 finished as regular season runners-up, securing a No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. The Flames' offense sits at the top of the League, leading the conference in hitting percentage (.249), assists (13.35 per set) and kills (14.39 per set). UIC also leads in the League in service aces, averaging 1.70 per set, while limiting its opposition to a conference-low 0.70 aces per set. On the defensive side, UIC ranks fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.170), opponent kills (12.13 per set) and digs (17.19 per set).

Individually, Becca Oldendorf ranks fourth in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .323. Alexandria Hicks follows in ninth, hitting .281 on the season so far. Kull comes in at third in the League in assists, dishing out an average of 9.79 helpers per set, and she also comes in at second in the Horizon League in service aces, averaging 0.52 aces per set. In kills, Paola Santiago ranks second, averaging 3.63 terminations per set. Santiago also tallies the fourth-most points in the League, contributing an average of 4.06 points per set.

PAOLA'S POWER
Junior Paola Santiago picked up her second-straight Horizon League Player of the Week award 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 nine matches this season and owns a team-high seven double-doubles 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 NORSE
Defending champion and No. 3 seed Northern Kentucky finished the regular season with an 8-4 mark in Horizon League play. The Norse rank third in the League in hitting percentage, hitting at a .221 clip as a team. Northern Kentucky's defense ranks first in the opponent kills, limiting their opposition to 11.09 kills per set. Anna Brinkman leads the Norse offense, averaging 3.52 kills per set to rank third in the Horizon League. Ashton Terrill handles things on defense, averaging 4.87 digs per set to take fourth place in the conference. The Flames are 3-8 all-time against Northern Kentucky, dropping both matches when the two teams last met in 2019.