CHICAGO (Aug. 24, 2023) – The UIC volleyball team is ready to kick off the 2023 season in its new home, Credit Union 1 Arena, beginning Friday as the Flames host the Chicago Classic. 

The Flames were selected third in the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Coaches' Poll, which was released last week. This marks the program's fifth top-three finish in coaches' polls since 2018 and the second year in a row the Flames were voted third in the MVC preseason poll.

The Flames were the only team in the conference to have two representatives on the 2023 MVC Preseason All-Conference team, with seniors Sohila Wafeek and Martina Delucchi receiving the honor.

Wafeek's 2022 season was her best so far at UIC, as she averaged 10.74 assists per game and tallied 1,214 assists over the season. She had a season-high 64 assists on Nov. 16 against Valparaiso and was selected to the 2022 MVC All-Conference First Team.

Delucchi is coming off a stellar 2022 campaign for the Flames, where she led the program with 480 kills and 552.5 points. The senior outside hitter had the fourth-best kill per set average (4.17) in The Valley and earned MVC All-Conference Second Team honors.

UIC will host St. Thomas (MN), Oakland and Lindenwood over the two-day event. The Chicago Classic marks first time matchups for UIC against both St. Thomas (MN) and Lindenwood. This will be the 20^th time UIC and Oakland are set to compete and the first time since 2021 when both programs were members of the Horizon League.

Chicago Classic

Friday, Aug. 25

• Lindenwood vs. Oakland, 10 a.m.
• UIC vs. St. Thomas, 12 p.m.
• Lindenwood vs. St. Thomas, 5 p.m.
• UIC vs. Oakland, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 26

• St. Thomas vs. Oakland, 1 p.m.
• UIC vs. Lindenwood, 3 p.m.

UIC's matches in the Chicago Classic will be the only matches streamed on ESPN+. Scott Sudikoff will be on the call for both of Friday's matches, while Connor Clingen will be calling the action against Lindenwood Saturday. Live stats will be available throughout the entirety of the two-day event on UICFlames.com.

For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through Twitter (@UIC_Volleyball and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_volleyball and @uicflames).