CHICAGO – After a thrilling comeback win in the Semifinals, the No. 2 seed UIC volleyball team (14-2, 14-1 HL) will be heading to Dayton, Ohio to face off with No. 1 seed Wright State (15-1, 15-0 HL) in the Horizon League Championship. The Flames and Raiders will square off in the title match on Saturday, April 3 at noon CT, inside the Raiders' C.J. McLin Gymnasium. Fans are encouraged to watch the match on ESPN+.

LOOKING BACK
UIC put together a comeback for the ages on Sunday (March 28) in the Horizon League semifinals, fighting back from a 2-0 deficit and an 18-8 hole in a decisive set four to take a 3-2 win over No. 3-seeded Northern Kentucky. Paola Santiago, Martina Delucchi and Morgan Kull all finished with double-doubles for the Flames in the win. Delucchi led the team in kills, terminating 18 while also digging out 18. Santiago led the way in digs, collecting 20 digs to go with 17 kills, while Kull ended the day with 13 digs to go with 29 assists.

TAKING HOME THE HARDWARE
The Horizon League announced its postseason awards on March 26, 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 13th in the nation in kills per set, averaging 14.22 terminations per set as a team. UIC also ranks 14th in the nation in assists per set, averaging 13.15 helpers per set as a squad and 44th in the nation in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .250 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
The Flames' offense sits at the top of the League, leading the conference in hitting percentage (.250), assists (13.15 per set) and kills (14.24 per set). UIC also leads in the League in service aces, averaging 1.69 per set, while limiting its opposition to a conference-low 0.76 aces per set. On the defensive side, UIC ranks fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.177), opponent kills (12.19 per set) and it comes in at fifth in digs (17.00 per set).

Individually, Becca Oldendorf ranks third in hitting percentage, hitting at a clip of .322. Morgan Kull comes in at fourth in the League in assists, dishing out an average of 9.42 helpers per set, and she also comes in at second in the Horizon League in service aces, averaging 0.49 aces per set. In kills, Paola Santiago ranks second, averaging 3.61 terminations per set. Santiago also tallies the fourth-most points in the League, contributing an average of 4.08 points per set.

PAOLA'S POWER
Junior Paola Santiago took home one of the final Horizon League Player of the Week awards of the season on March 25 after hitting .357 and averaging 4.67 kills per set and 3.17 digs per set in UIC's regular season finale at IUPUI. Santiago also picked up back-to-back Horizon League Player of the Week awards at the beginning of the season on Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, bringing her grand total to three weekly awards this season. The junior has paced UIC in kills in nine matches this season and owns a team-high eight double-doubles this season, averaging a team-high 3.61 kills per set and 2.92 digs per set.

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 first-year setter 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.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Regular Season Champion Wright State remains undefeated this season in Horizon League matches, including a 3-0 sweep over Purdue Fort Wayne in Sunday's Semifinals. The Raiders own the top defense in the Horizon League, leading the conference in digs (19.98 per set), blocks (2.75 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.107), while coming in at second in both opponent assists (10.38 per set) and opponent kills (11.38 per set).

Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Jenna Story leads not only the League, but the entire nation in digs per set, averaging 6.33 digs per frame. Nyssa Baker leads the League and ranks 11th in the nation in blocks per set, making an average of 1.46 stops per set. On offense, Celia Powers leads the way, averaging 2.74 kills per set and 3.52 points per set.

The Flames and Raiders did not have the chance to meet during the regular season, and the two teams split their meetings in 2019, with each team winning on their own court. UIC has the advantage in the all-time series, 35-26.