FORT MYERS, Fla. (Aug. 30, 2024) – Behind a balanced attack that featured five Flames with seven or more kills, the UIC volleyball program (1-0) opened the 2024 season with a 3-1 victory over UAlbany in the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Fort Myers Classic Friday afternoon.
Middle blockers
Kayanna Jones (Normal, Ill./Normal West) and
Zahria Woodard (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest) led UIC with 11 kills a piece while graduate transfer
Natalie Chizzo (Oak Park, Ill./Northwestern) opened her Flames career with a nine-kill outing.
The full box score and play-by-play recap can be found
here.
COMMENT FROM HEAD COACH JUSTIN INGRAM
"We did a nice job coming back in the first set in order to tie the match late.
Hannah Howard came back and did a nice job finishing off our serve and winning the first set. I think as the game progressed our middles continued to be very hot, very offensive and unstoppable. We had a bunch of players step up in the other sets such as
Natalie Chizzo and
Cleo Lorenzo. All of this is a result of very positive ball control and being able to sustain with long rallies. "
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- This is the eighth season in a row the Flames have won their season opener.
- UIC found success serving against UAlbany, tallying nine aces in Friday's win.
- Jones' 11 kills tied her career-high for a match (Drake | Oct. 15, 2022) and was more than her season total (10) in 2023.
- With the victory the Flames move to 2-0 all-time against the Great Danes.
UP NEXT
- UIC is back in action on Saturday as the Flames face North Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast in the second day of the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Fort Myers Classic.
- The Flames' contest against the Bison will start at 12:30 p.m. CT, while their match against the host Eagles will start at 6 p.m. CT.
- UIC holds a 2-1 record all-time against NDSU, with the last meeting between the two programs taking place in 2019. Saturday's match against FGCU will be the programs' first against each other.
- Live stats will be available for both matches and fans can watch the contest against FGCU on ESPN+.
SUPPORT THE CHICAGO COLLECTIVE
- Fans are strongly encouraged to support NIL opportunities for UIC student-athletes through contributions to The Chicago Collective.
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
- For more information on the UIC program, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UICFlames) and Instagram (@uicflames).
