CHICAGO (Nov. 14, 2023) – The UIC volleyball team (19-11, 10-7 MVC) winds up the regular season Wednesday night, as it faces off against Missouri Valley Conference rival Valparaiso (18-10, 10-7 MVC) at 6 p.m. (CT) at Credit Union 1 Arena. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Scott Sudikoff on the call, while live stats will be available at UICFlames.com.
 
THE PLAYOFF PICTURE

• UIC is tied for third in the MVC standings with Valparaiso and Southern Illinois. The Flames can be seeded as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 6 for the 2023 MVC Volleyball Championship that will take place Nov. 19-22 in Springfield, Mo.

 
If UIC wins…

• If the Flames defeat Valparaiso on Wednesday, UIC will clinch the No. 3 seed.

 
If UIC is defeated….

• If UIC is defeated and Southern Illinois loses at home in either three or five sets against Missouri State, the Flames will earn the No. 4 seed based off a better record against a higher-finishing team in the conference (UIC went 2-0 vs. second-place Drake; SIU went 0-2).
• If SIU wins and UIC is defeated, the Flames fall to the No. 5 seed.
• The Flames can only fall to the No. 6 seed if SIU loses to Missouri State by exactly a 3-1 score. That would result in both SIU and Missouri State moving above UIC via the fourth step of the MVC's tie breaking procedure (winning percentage in all sets played in conference matches).

 
SCOUTING VALPARAISO

• The last time these teams faced off on Sept. 26, the Flames were victorious in four sets at Valparaiso's Athletics-Recreation Center. Senior Becca Oldendorf (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) led the way for UIC, securing a double-double with 14 kills and 10 blocks. Martina Delucchi (La Plata, Argentina/San Cayetano) tallied 13 kills, four blocks and four aces in the win.
• The Beacons were red hot in the month of October, going 6-2 with sweeps against Indiana State and Missouri State, both on the road. They are currently .500 in November with wins against Bradley and Illinois State.
• Led by sophomore libero Emma Hickey, the Beacons are the top digging team in the MVC. They average 17.38 digs per set. Hickey is fourth in the conference with 5.36 digs per set.
• Senior Mallory Januski isn't one to shy away on the attack for Valparaiso. She has tallied the second-most kills on the team with 252 and ranks eighth in The Valley in hitting percentage (.318).

 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Delucchi has been effective on the attack down the stretch for the Flames, earning 10-plus kills in five of the past six matches.
• Senior Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill./ Oak Park and River Forest) earned her second Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor after collecting 15 blocks last weekend, including 10 blocks in the win against Drake. She leads the nation with 160 total blocks this season.
• With 1,475 career digs, senior libero Jaclyn Oblena (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) needs 25 digs to become the third UIC player with 1,500 career digs, and she is 56 digs away from surpassing Carlyn Fisk (1,530 from 1988-91) for second on the program's career digs list.
• Oldendorf remains in the hunt for the best hitting percentage in program history. With a career hitting percentage of .369, she is on pace to surpass 2023 UIC Athletics Hall of Famer Stephenee Yancy (.365).

 
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