SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Nov. 19, 2023) – The No. 3 seed UIC volleyball team (20-11, 11-7 MVC) will meet No. 7 seed (and tournament host) Missouri State (16-15, 9-9 MVC) in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 MVC Volleyball Championship at 6 p.m. (CT) Monday at MSU's Hammons Student Center. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at
UICFlames.com.
SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE
- After splitting their two matches this season, the Flames and the Bears will settle the season series in this rubber match. UIC won in the first meeting at Credit Union 1 Arena on Sept. 23, sweeping Missouri State. The Bears responded with a five-set win at the Hammons Student Center on Oct. 20.
- Missouri State punched its ticket to the MVC quarterfinals with a four-set victory over No. 6 seed Illinois State in Sunday's opening round.
- Senior outside hitter and first-team all-conference selection Martina Delucchi (La Plata, Argentina/San Cayetano) has found great success against the Bears, tallying 36 kills in two matches this season and averaging 4.50 kills per set.
- In UIC's last match against Missouri State, freshmen Gabi Peter (Gilbert, Ill./Hampshire) and Tamara Kisic (Belgrade, Serbia) each had strong outings. Peter collected 11 kills and two blocks while Kisic tallied eight kills.
FLAMES TRIO AMONG ALL-MVC CONFERENCE TEAMS
- The MVC announced its all-conference teams Saturday afternoon. Delucchi and fellow senior Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest) earned first-team honors, while senior Becca Oldendorf (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) was a second-team choice.
- In 100 sets this season, Delucchi has tallied 390 kills for the Flames, averaging 3.90 kills per set, the third-highest mark in the conference. She has 21 matches with double-digit kills and four 20-kill contests.
- Woodard, a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week, has been a pillar at the net for the Flames, averaging 1.44 blocks per set. Not one to shy away from the attack either, she has tallied 230 kills this season, the best of her collegiate career.
- Leading the MVC with a .423 hitting percentage, Oldendorf remains a model of consistency for UIC. She has 226 kills this season, including 10 matches with double-digit kills.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Flames finished MVC play on fire, winning seven of their final eight regular season matches. Four of those wins came via sweeps over Valparaiso, Bradley, Illinois State and Belmont.
- Already on pace to break the school's single season record for hitting percentage (.423), Oldendorf's career hitting percentage (.370) remains on pace to surpass 2023 UIC Athletics Hall of Famer Stephenee Yancy's .365 hitting percentage during her time at UIC in 2014-15.
- With 158 kills this season, Woodard only needs three more blocks to break Ambria Springer's school record of 160 total blocks in 2006.
- Finishing the regular season with 12 aces in last Wednesday's home win against Valparaiso, the Flames have collected double-digit aces in six matches this season.
NEED TO KNOW
#ChicagosCollegeTeam | #FireUpFlames
