CHICAGO (Sept. 22, 2023)—The UIC volleyball team opened Flames Fest and Missouri Valley Conference play against Southern Illinois (9-3, 1-0 MVC) Friday night with a valiant effort, but fell short in four sets 3-1.
COMMENT FROM UIC HEAD COACH JUSTIN INGRAM
"We knew they were going to be scrappy, but they (Southern Illinois) played some terrific defense over the course of the match. It's a tough thing to try and recover from because the more that they dig in transition and get more quality screens, that means we must match it and it just wasn't happening. We faltered at times within the dig to transition and we must be a bit sharper Saturday against Missouri State."
FIRST SET (28-26, SIU)
- The Flames broke away early with the lead, going on 6-1 run. That was highlighted with two kills from senior Martina Delucchi (La Plata, Argentina/ San Cayetano) and a kill from Becca Oldendorf (Lockport, Ill./ Lockport Township).
- Senior middle blocker Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill./ Oak Park, and River Forest) collected her first kill of the match to give UIC a 17-12 lead midway through the set.
- The Salukis' 6-0 run later in the first was thwarted after Delucchi's fourth kill of the set was followed by a service ace from the senior. That gave the Flames a 20-19 lead.
- After Southern Illinois took a late two-point lead, two kills from sophomore Ayat Amin (Cairo, Egypt/Al Waha International School) and an ace from sophomore setter Francesca Venturini (Bergamo, Italy/Liceo Classico Paolo Sarpi) pushed the match to 25-25. The Salukis later earned the first set victory.
SECOND SET (26-24, SIU)
- Each program traded point-for-point early in the second set, as Delucchi hit two more aces to give UIC a 6-4 lead.
- Amin earned her fifth kill to maintain the Flames' lead 15-14 before the media timeout.
- The Salukis rallied entering the 20th point, before Delucchi collected her eighth kill of the match. That was soon followed by a kill from sophomore Cleo Lorenzo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/ Elite) to cut Southern Illinois' lead to three 23-20.
- After a blocking assist from Venturini and Woodard, the Flames tied it up at the 24th point thanks to Amin's seventh kill of the match. However, the Salukis' won the second set a few plays later.
THIRD SET (25-23, UIC)
- The Flames opened the set with their eighth service ace of the evening and second one of the match from Venturini.
- Lorenzo caught fire in the third set, collecting six kills. Her final kill of the set tied the match at 20-20. A kill soon after from Delucchi forced an SIU timeout with the Flames holding a one-point lead.
- The Flames pushed their first set point of the night behind Woodard's fourth kill of the match.
- Delucchi's 14th kill of the match earned UIC it's 25th point and first set victory of the night.
FOURTH SET (25-23, SIU)
- The Flames went on a 5-0 run to lead early 7-4. Both Lorenzo and Delucchi had kills during the rally.
- Lorenzo collected her 13th kill of the match to earn UIC's 10th point of the set. The sophomore finished with 14 kills in the match, a new career high.
- Delucchi earned her sixth ace of the match, a career high, to give the Flames a six-point lead 17-11.
- After an 8-2 rally by Southern Illinois gave the Salukis the lead, Amin earned her 10th kill of the match to bring UIC within one 24-23. However Southern Illinois would take the next point to win the match.
CONGRATS JACLYN!
- Earning 17 digs in her return to the volleyball court, senior Jaclyn Oblena (Orland Park, Ill./ Carl Sandburg) now ranks seventh most career digs (1,270) in UIC's program history.
NEXT UP FOR THE FLAMES
The Flames remain home Saturday afternoon at Credit Union 1 Arena, as they host Missouri State (6-7, 0-1 MVC). First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. Live stats for the match will be available to follow along at
UICFlames.com.
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