CHICAGO – The UIC volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Northern Iowa Saturday (Sept. 24) evening inside the Flames Athletic Center.
 
Becca Oldendorf recorded 10 kills on a .316 hitting percentage while Martina Delucchi had a team-high 14 kills. Jaclyn Oblena led the defense with 21 digs, two shy of her season high, while Sohila Wafeek dished out 28 assists.
 
The UIC offense struggled to get anything going Saturday, hitting a combined .176 as a team. Despite holding Northern Iowa under a .300 hitting percentage (.290), it was enough of a margin to determine the outcome.
 
After the Panthers took the first two sets by 25-22 and 25-18 margins, the Flames battled back to take the third set. Three straight Northern Iowa points put the visitors in front, 22-21, to force head coach Justin Ingram to burn a timeout. UIC responded by taking the final four points of the set to claim a 25-22 decision. Delucchi opened the scoring with a kill before Wafeek served up one of UIC's eight aces in the match. A UNI error gave the Flames set point and Santiago put a kill away from the outside to cap the set.
 
UIC was unable to carry the momentum into the fourth set, as Northern Iowa pulled away to take the match with a 25-16 victory in the fourth frame.
 
The Flames round out a 3-match in 4-day period on Monday when UIC plays host to Valparaiso. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
 
News and Notes

• Delucchi has now recorded 10 or more kills in the last four matches and in all but two contests this season.
• Northern Iowa held a slim 10-9 advantage in blocks. Eight different Flames got in on at least one block, with Ayat Amin leading the way with four assisted blocks.
• The third set featured 16 ties and 10 lead changes while the remaining three sets combined to have seven ties and two lead changes.