EVANSVILLE, IND.--After securing a first-round bye with their regular season play, the No. 3 UIC Flames volleyball team (22-9, 12-5) was victorious against No. 7 Valparaiso (22-10, 9-9) in the Quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship Tournament at Meeks Family Fieldhouse Monday, 3-0.

Starting off the first set in a deficit, the Flames were down 6-1 early on, but slowly bridged the gap until they tied things up at the 10^th point. Breaking away just a few points later, the Flames secured the win in the first set through the work of Zahria Woodard (seven kills, .700 hit percentage) and Martina Delucchi (12 kills, two digs) with their work by the net.

The second set is when Paola Santiago began to go on a tear for the Flames. Only scoring one kill in the first set, Santiago finished the night with 12 kills and three digs. The Flames kept a sizable lead to win the 2^nd set (25-20) and securing the win in the 3^rd (25-17).

Other notable performers include Libero Jaclyn Oblena with 11 digs and Mikala Henderson with eight kills and five digs to add to the collective effort.

The Flames find themselves remaining on a wave of momentum as they have won six in a row, with five of them coming as 3-0 victories.

Now with their sights set on the semifinals, the Flames are set to take on the No. 2 Drake Bulldogs (25-6, 16-2). First serve is scheduled for 6 pm Tuesday night.