CHICAGO (Oct. 7^th, 2023)—The UIC volleyball team (13-7, 4-3 MVC) lost in three sets to Illinois State (6-12, 4-2 MVC) Saturday night at Credit Union 1 Arena.

COMMENT FROM UIC HEAD COACH JUSTIN INGRAM
"Tonight was challenging for us.  Illinois State had more success than we did on both sides of the ball.  We will need to dig much deeper into our purpose and ability in order to be satisfied as we move forward."
 
FIRST SET (28-26, ISU)

• The Flames began the match by scoring the first three points off blocking assists from seniors Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest), Becca Oldendorf (Lockport, Ill./ Lockport Township) and sophomore Cleo Lorenzo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Elite). Lorenzo also collected her first kill in that rally.
• Sophomore Ayat Amin (Cairo, Egypt/Al Waha International School) collected her third kill of the set to maintain UIC's lead at 14-12.
• Coming off a media timeout, Oldendorf earned the Flames their only ace of the night to keep UIC's lead at four points.
• After the Redbirds went on a 7-2 run late in the set, UIC earned its 20^th point of set behind a bad set from Illinois State to tie the score at 20-20.
• Down by one, freshman Gabi Peter (Gilbert, Ill./Hampshire) collected back-to-back-to-back kills to tie up the set at 26 before Illinois State won the set with two-straight points.

SECOND SET (25-21, ISU)

• After Illinois State began the set on a 4-1 rally, back-to-back kills from Woodard and senior Abigail Sunga (Fontana, Calif./Saint Lucy's Priory) bridged the Redbirds lead to one early on.
• Senior Mikala Henderson (St. Michael, Min./St. Michael Albertville) checked into the match for the first time for the Flames and earned her first kill quickly as UIC trailed 9-5.
• Amin collected two additional kills during the middle of the second set, with both assisted by sophomore setter Francesca Venturini (Bergamo, Italy/ Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi). UIC remained behind Illinois State 12-9 midway through the set.
• Kills from Venturini and Henderson brought UIC within two (16-14), forcing Illinois State to call a timeout.
• Lorenzo's seventh kill of the night kept UIC alive in the set at 24-19, before a service error gave Illinois State its second set victory of the night.

THIRD SET (25-15, ISU)

• An early 9-1 rally from Illinois State was eventually thwarted by Lorenzo earning UIC's first three kills of the set. UIC trailed early 11-5.
• Amin collected her ninth kill of the match but came down with a knee injury that pulled the sophomore outside hitter off the court for the rest of the night.
• Woodard tallied her ninth kill of the match to cut Illinois State's lead to eight (22-14).
• After the Redbirds reached match point, Henderson earned her fourth kill the night to keep the Flames alive, but Illinois State earned the victory on the following point..

BY THE NUMBERS

• With senior Martina Delucchi (La Plata, Argentina/San Cayetano) out with an injury, only three members of UIC were able to tally seven or more kills against Illinois State: Amin (nine), Woodard (nine) and Lorenzo (eight).
• In the absence of senior setter Sohila Wafeek (Cairo, Egypt/ Al Gomhorya Language School), the Flames collectively earned 35 assists tonight including 11 from Mehl Hansen (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Central). The 11 assists were a new career-high for the sophomore.
• Woodard's 350 career total blocks ranks her sixth in UIC volleyball history. She needs five more to break into the top five in the UIC record books.
• After the Flames third full week in MVC play, Oldendorf remains the most efficient hitter in The Valley, with a hitting percentage of .433.

UP NEXT FOR THE FLAMES
The Flames hit the road for the next two weeks of MVC play, beginning next weekend with two matches in the state of Indiana. They face off against Evansville (6-11, 1-5 MVC) Friday at 5 p.m. and travel to Terre Haute, Ind. to take on Indiana State (2-14, 0-6 MVC) Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Both matches will be available to stream on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available at UICFlames.com.
 
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