CHICAGO (Sept. 5, 2023) – The UIC volleyball team couldn't regain momentum after a hard fought first set, falling to Illinois at Credit Union 1 Arena Tuesday night, 3-1.
 
COMMENT FROM UIC HEAD COACH JUSTIN INGRAM
"When you get an in-state opponent from the Big Ten at your home court, you want to show them your best, and at times we were pretty good. We showed up with an aggressive serve, which gave us points in bunches and created a gap that was beneficial, because the score ended up in the first set with us winning by two points. We are going to take the good away from the match. Our middles were very efficient. We need to find them more often. I thought Ayat Amin was productive on the right side, alongside moments from Martina Delucchi. Credit to Illinois for fighting back and taking the second, third and fourth set. We will take what we can, and we will learn from it."

FIRST SET (25-23, UIC)

• The Flames started the set with momentum, going on a 5-2 run. That was highlighted by kills from sophomores Ayat Amin, Cleo Lorenzo and senior Zahria Woodard.
• A block assist from Amin and Woodard later in the set extended the Flames lead to13-7 to force a Fighting Illini timeout.
• After UIC's lead was cut down to one point to 24-23, the Flames earned the set point after senior Becca Oldendorf shot her fourth successful kill. She started the match off with a perfect 1.000 attack percentage.
• The Flames only two aces of the match came in the first set, from Oldendorf and sophomore setter Francesca Venturini.

SECOND SET (25-12, Illinois)

• Amin led the attack with four kills in the set. Those four kills contributed to a 15-kill night from the sophomore, a new season high.
• Oldendorf also collected three kills in the set and senior Martina Delucchi had two.
• Venturini added four more assists in the second set to break double digits. Finishing the match with 21, the sophomore leads the Flames in assists with 154.

THIRD SET (25-18 Illinois)

• The teams kept within reach of each other to start the set, trading point-for-point. After collecting her second kill of the match, freshman Gabi Peter landed her first blocking assist in the match alongside Woodard to keep it tied up at three early on.
• Senior libero Jaclyn Oblena landed three digs in the set, on her way to 14 digs in the match. She now has 10 plus digs in her last 10 matches, dating back to a UIC win against Murray State back on Nov. 13.
• The lead changed four times up to the 18^th point, tying on five different occasions before the Fighting Illini earned the set point

FOURTH SET (25-17, Illinois)

• Delucchi tallied four more kills in the fourth set to finish with 12 in the match. She now has 1120 kills in her career, with 63 so far in her senior season.
• Oldendorf earned her 10^th kill in the match behind senior Sohila Wafeek's 15th assist of the match. Flames still trailed 23-16.
• In the very next play,  Oldendorf smacked her 11^th kill of the match before Illinois won the match two points later. The senior now has three matches this season with 10 plus kills.

UP NEXT FOR THE FLAMES

The Flames hit the road this weekend for the first time this season, as they travel to Ohio to partake in the Dayton Invitational beginning on Friday. They face off against Wright State (2-4) at 11 a.m. ET before returning later in the evening to the Frericks Center to take on the hosting Flyer at 7 p.m. ET. That match will be available to stream on ESPN+. They conclude the Invitational with a match-up against Ball State (2-4) Saturday. First serve for that match will be at 11 a.m. ET. 

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