CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team (9-1, 9-1 HL) will finish out its regular season home schedule this week as it hosts Green Bay (4-8, 4-8 HL). The Flames and Phoenix are set to face off on Monday, March 8 at 6 p.m. CT before wrapping up the two-day series on Tuesday, March 9 at 4 p.m. CT.

Tuesday's match will serve as Senior Day, as the Flames will be honoring the careers of Alexandria Hicks, Alexandra Drosopoulou, Velina Minkova and Morgan Kull after the match. Fans will be able to tune in to a live stream of the ceremony on YouTube via the blue link above.  

LOOKING BACK
UIC completed its fourth series sweep of the season last week, taking down Oakland 3-1 on Monday (March 1), before outlasting the Golden Grizzlies in five sets on Tuesday (March 2). On Monday, Paola Santiago led the way, nearly joining the 20-20 club with a career-high 19 kills and a team-high 19 digs. On Tuesday, four Flames finished with double-digit kill performances, led by a personal-best 13 kills from freshman Mikala Henderson. Santiago also turned in another double-double, recording 11 kills to go with 16 digs.  

OFFENSIVE PROWESS
UIC's offense stands at one of the best in the nation, ranking 23rd in the nation in kills per set, averaging 14.22 terminations per set as a team. UIC also ranks 24th in the nation in assists per set, averaging 13.19 helpers per set as a squad, thanks in large part to setter Morgan Kull, who ranks 29th in the nation individually with 10.76 assists per set. UIC's offense also comes in at 47th in the nation in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .249 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 9-1 record puts them at second in the conference, just one game behind Wright State. The Flames' offense sits at the top of the League, ranking second in hitting percentage (.249), assists (13.19 per set) and kills (14.22 per set). UIC also ranks fourth in the League in service aces, averaging 1.65 per set, while limiting its opposition to a conference-low 0.65 aces per set.
On the defensive side, UIC ranks third in opponent hitting percentage (.169), digs (17.51 per set) and blocks (1.97 per set).

Individually, Becca Oldendorf ranks sixth in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .324. Alexandria Hicks follows in seventh, hitting .313 on the season so far. Kull paces the League in assists, dishing out an average of 10.76 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 third, averaging 3.65 terminations per set. Santiago also tallies the third-most points in the League, contributing an average of 4.14 points 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 PHOENIX
Green Bay is 4-8 this spring after splitting its most recent series with Purdue Fort Wayne (March 1-2). The Phoenix fell 3-1 in the opener but came back to win the finale, 3-2 to earn the series split. Alexandra Zakutney leads Green Bay's offensive efforts, averaging 3.67 kills per set to rank second in the Horizon League. Zakutney also leads the League in service aces, averaging 0.58 aces per set. Defensively, Annelise Sparks leads the Phoenix with 3.42 digs per set, putting her at 10th in the conference. The Flames have the advantage all-time, 37-29, but the Phoenix have taken the last six meetings between the two teams, five of which have gone into the tiebreaker set.