NORMAL, Ill. – The UIC volleyball team (10-15, 6-7 MVC) began a two-day Missouri Valley Conference road trip on Friday, taking on the Illinois State Redbirds (18-7, 9-5 MVC) in its second-to-last regular-season road game of the 2026 season. As the Flames and Redbirds went head-to-head inside CEFCU Arena, it was the home team that ended up on top, as Illinois State defeated UIC 3-1.
Gabi Peter led the Flames with 15 kills, followed by
Tamara Kisic and
Robyn Ward with nine. Kisic added one service ace, three blocks, and 11 digs to her stat line.
Paulina Ströh led the way in service aces with three.
UIC dominated set one, taking a 25-14 victory. With multiple 5-1 runs throughout the set, the Redbirds were unable to keep up with the Flames' momentum. Ward recorded four kills, with back-to-back coming at 8-5 and 9-5. A kill by Ward marked set victory for the Flames. Ströh and Kisic both picked up a service ace.
Illinois State evened the match in set two, taking the set 25-21. An early 7-0 run gave the Redbirds the gap they needed to get ahead and stay ahead of the Flames. UIC would push for a late comeback, coming within three with a 4-0 run. In the run, Kisic picked up a kill, Ströh recorded a service ace, and
Sasha Pellettieri, Ward, and Kisic all notched block assists.
A back-and-forth set three went in favor of the Redbirds as Illinois State took the set 25-22. With 11 ties throughout the set, the Redbirds would jump ahead during a late 6-1 run to take the set victory. Ströh once again recorded a service ace.
Set four started off strong for UIC, but an 8-1 run, including four service aces, shifted momentum in favor of Illinois State. The Flames would come back to cut the score within two, but fell short in their comeback, as they fell to the Redbirds 25-20. Peter recorded five kills during the set.
The entire play-by-play and box score can be found
here.
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
The Flames will play in its final road contest of the 2026 season Saturday when they head to Peoria, Ill. to take on the Bradley Braves (13-13, 8-5 MVC). First serve inside the Renaissance Coliseum is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on
ESPN+ with live stats available on
UICFlames.com.
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For more information on UIC volleyball, fans are encouraged to visit
UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (
@UIC_Volleyball and
@UICFlames) and Instagram (
@uicvolleyball and
@uicflames).
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