NORMAL, Ill.  (Nov. 3, 2023) – The UIC volleyball team (17-10, 8-6 MVC) shelled Illinois State (11-15, 9-5 MVC) on the attack and earned a match sweep on the road at the CEFCU Arena Friday night.

The Flames have won four consecutive matches and have eight wins in conference play. UIC has four more matches remaining in the 2023 regular season.

COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH JUSTIN INGRAM
"Not too long ago we started to see our production and our confidence building. We had four attackers hit above the UIC standard in their respective positions and we needed that production. The main storyline of this match was the serve and pass battle. Our servers were tremendous and our receivers kept us in system all night long."

FIRST SET (28-26, UIC)

• The first point of the match went to the Flames after senior Sohila Wafeek (Cairo, Egypt/Al Gomhorya Language School) set up a kill for sophomore Cleo Lorenzo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Elite).
• Down 11-6, the Flames finished off a 3-0 run behind an ace from freshman Tamara Kisic (Belgrade, Serbia) to cut the Redbirds' lead to two.
• A lengthy sequence favored UIC after a diving dig from libero Jaclyn Oblena (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) eventually set up Lorenzo's second kill of the set. An attack error from the Redbirds forced a timeout with the Flames trailing by one point (20-19).
• Senior Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill./ Oak Park and River Forest) connected on back-to-back kills and was soon followed by a bad set for the Redbirds to give the Flames their first lead of the set (26-25).
• With the match tied at 26, senior Becca Oldendorf's (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) second kill of the set pushed UIC to set point. After a call went in favor for Illinois State, a challenge from head coach Justin Ingram overturned the call to give UIC its first set victory of the night.

SECOND SET (25-13, UIC)

• The Flames began the set with an early 9-2 lead, highlighted by three aces from sophomore Francesca Venturini (Bergamo, Italy/Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi).
• A pair of kills from freshman Za'Niya Boyles (Columbia, S.C./ Gray Collegiate Academy) kept the Flames ahead at 13-4.
• Up 17-9, two more kills from both Lorenzo and Oldendorf extended UIC's lead to ten.
• After Boyles joined Woodard for a block, a service and attack error earned the Flames their second consecutive set victory.

THIRD SET (25-23, UIC)

• Three early kills from senior Martina Delucchi (La Plata, Argentina/San Cayetano) contributed to the Flames taking an early 6-3 lead.
• Seven different lead changes led to UIC taking a 15-14 lead before the media timeout behind Mikala Henderson's (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael Albertville) second kill of the night.
• The Flames secured a late 5-0 rally in the set, highlighted by kills from Delucchi, Oldendorf and Lorenzo.
• Woodard's seventh and final kill of the night pushed the third set to match point in favor of UIC. The Flames earned the match victory behind an attack error from the Redbirds.

UP NEXT FOR THE FLAMES
The Flames remain on the road Saturday, as UIC is set to take on Bradley (2-12, 9-18 MVC) to finish off the two-match road trip. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. The match will be available to stream on ESPN+ and live stats can be found at UICFlames.com.

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