EVANSTON, Ill. – The UIC volleyball team opened its final non-conference tournament of the season Friday (Sept. 17) evening, playing tournament hosts Northwestern on the first day of the annual Chicago Cup. Despite a strong third-set showing, the Flames dropped a 3-1 decision to the Wildcats.
 
Three Flames finished in double figures in kills, led by Paola Santiago's team-high 14 kills. Martina Delucchi added 11 while Becca Oldendorf connected on 10 kills. Morgan Kull dished out a team-high 24 assists and the duo of Delucchi and Sohila Wafeek added nine digs each.
 
Trailing by a 17-10 margin in the opening set, the Flames used a 5-1 run to climb back into the match. The scoring spree was highlighted by an Amelia Sunga ace, prompting a Wildcat timeout. Northwestern came out of the break and ended the run before closing out the 25-20 victory. Oldendorf recorded four of her 10 kills in the opening set, connecting at a .500 clip.
 
It was a similar story in the second frame, as the tournament hosts found themselves in front, 14-8, before the Flames mounted another rally. A 7-2 run in the second set pulled the Flames within a point at 16-15, prompting another Northwestern timeout. A Wildcat error out of the timeout evened the set at 16-all, but four-straight Northwestern points put the set out of reach as the Cats closed out an identical 25-20 victory in the second.
 
UIC played its most complete set in the third, using a late rally to come from behind and win 25-21. A solo block by Zahria Woodard capped a 6-1 UIC run and put the Flames ahead, 14-13. Another big run for UIC, this time a 6-2 scoring advantage, pushed the lead to four at 22-18. Delucchi connected from the outside to end the set in which the Flames limited Northwester to a .171 hitting percentage.
 
Northwestern took a lead a 3-2 in the fourth set and never trailed the rest of the set, cruising to a 25-16 victory.
 
The Flames return to action Saturday for the final two matches of the Chicago Cup, facing Loyola at 10 a.m. and DePaul at 5:30 p.m. in Evanston.