CHICAGO -- The UIC volleyball team is back in action this weekend with a pair of road games against a pair of fellow MVC newcomers.

FIRST SERVE
• The Flames open the weekend Friday night at Murray State before rounding out the trip with a Saturday evening contest at Belmont. 
• UIC will be looking to pick up the season sweep over the two schools after defeating the Bruins and Racers by 3-0 margins on Oct. 7-8, respectively.
• Paola Santiago became the second UIC player to earn MVC Player of the Week accolades when she picked up the award on Nov. 25. Santiago recorded a pair of double-doubles, helping the Flames to a pair of five-set wins at Southern Illinois and Missouri State.
• Head coach Justin Ingram became the fourth coach in UIC history to notch 100 career wins with the Flames with the team's 3-1 win over Illinois State on Oct. 2. In his sixth year at the helm of the program, Ingram is now 105-61 all-time with the Flames.

OBLENA REACHES 1K
• Jaclyn Oblena became the 24th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs when she eclipsed the mark this past Saturday at Missouri State.
• Oblena entered the match with 996 digs and picked up a match-high 23 to reach the milestone. The junior now has 1,038 career digs.
• UIC now has two active players with over 1,000 career digs, as Paola Santiago currently has 1,278 career digs.

IN-STATE WINS
• The Flames improved to 7-2 in games against in-state opponents following a 3-2 win over Southern Illinois last weekend.
• UIC went 4-2 in non-conference play, defeating Eastern Illinois, Chicago State, Loyola and DePaul. 
• The Flames are a perfect 3-0 against in-state MVC opponents, having defeated Illinois State, Bradley and Southern Illinois.