CHICAGO (Sept. 25, 2023) – The UIC volleyball team (10-5, 1-1 MVC) enters its second week of Missouri Valley Conference play with three road matches in a five-day span.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN

• at Valparaiso (10-5, 2-0 MVC)

• Tuesday, Sept. 26.

First Serve: 6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)

• at Drake (9-5, 2-0 MVC)

• Friday, Sept. 29

First Serve: 6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)

• at UNI (8-6, 2-0 MVC)

• Saturday, Sept. 30

First Serve: 6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
 
SCOUTING VALPARAISO

• Tuesday will mark the 59^th time the Flames and the Beacons will compete against one another, with Valparaiso holding a slim 31-27 series lead.
• UIC has won the past three series meetings, all during both teams' first season in The Valley last year. The Flames swept Valparaiso in both regular season meetings and then eliminated the Beacons, 3-0 in the 2022 MVC Volleyball Championship quarterfinals.
• Valparaiso started conference play this season with wins over Missouri State (6-8, 0-2 MVC) and Southern Illinois (9-4, 1-1 MVC) at home last weekend.
• The Beacons rank fifth in The Valley in digs per set (16.30) and seventh in kills per set (12.65).
• Senior Mallory Januski has the second-best hitting percentage (.401) in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Sophomore libero Emma Hickey has 249 digs this season for the Beacons, averaging 4.92 per set (sixth-best in the MVC).

 
SCOUTING DRAKE

• This will be the first meeting for both teams since the Bulldogs eliminated the Flames, 3-0 in the 2022 MVC Volleyball Championship semifinals last November.
• This will be the 11^th match between the programs. Drake leads the overall series, 6-4.
• The Bulldogs started conference play this season with wins over Illinois State (2-12, 0-2 MVC) and Bradley (7-8, 0-2 MVC).
• Drake has the best hitting percentage (.259) in The Valley and ranks second in assists per set (13.17).
• Sophomore Addison Beagle has collected 595 assists for the Bulldogs, averaging a conference-leading 11.44 assists per set.
• Kacie Rewerts leads the MVC in total blocks per set (1.38) and has the second-most total blocks (69).

 
SCOUTING UNI

• This is the 14^th meeting between the Flames and the Panthers. UNI has an overall series lead of 11-2. The Flames aim to earn their first win over UNI since 2015.
• The Panthers started conference play this season with 3-0 victories against Bradley and Illinois State.
• UNI averages the second-most points per set (17.41) in the MVC and the most assists per set (13.65).
• Junior Olivia Tjernagel has tallied 54 blocks this season. She also has 106 kills, highlighted by 10-plus kills in the Panthers' first five matches.
• Junior setter Tayler Alden has the third-most assists in the conference, collecting 472 assists this season.

 
BY THE NUMBERS

• 14 kills from sophomore Cleo Lorenzo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Elite) in the Sept. 22 loss against Southern Illinois were a new career high for the outside hitter. Senior Martina Delucchi (La Plata, Argentina/San Cayetano) earned her second consecutive 21-kill performance against the Salukis. She also earned six aces in the match, a new career high.
• Sophomore Ayat Amin (Cairo, Egypt/Al Waha International School) earned 13 kills in the Flames win over Missouri State on Sept. 23. The outside hitter now has 187 kills in the 2023 season.
• The Flames found great success from the service line, landing 10 aces against both Missouri State and Southern Illinois last weekend.
• 319 total blocks from senior middle blocker Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill./ Oak Park and River Forest) puts her two blocks away from breaking into the top 10 on the UIC career blocks list.

 
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