 "Photo: Photos courtesy of UICFlames.com")
Ten months ago, the Flames were the pushovers of the Horizon League volleyball, last in the league in hitting percentage and not far from the bottom in assists and kills. The Flames squeaked by Youngstown State in the first round of the 2008 Championships, only to get pounded in the Quarterfinals by no. 1 seed Milwaukee, who eventually went on to win it all.
This year, at 1-5, Milwaukee is sharing one of the worst records in the league with Green Bay. Still a preseason favorite, Milwaukee will have to do without last year's senior leader Becky Peters. The Flames are working on changing their bottom-feeding reputation and becoming a prime contender in the Horizon League. It's no wonder it felt good for the Flames to return home this past weekend after posting losing records at both the Northern Illinois Invitational and the Adidas Classic hosted by Indiana University this past month.
"Our non-conference tournaments will be an excellent test in preparing us for the Horizon League," said Head Coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to UICFlames.com. "We accomplished a lot during the spring season, and we are excited about raising the bar of excellence this upcoming season. This team is hungry to compete and eager to prove what they can do."
Ten returnees and four newcomers will make up the roster for the first year of Schumacher-Cawley's tenure. Seniors Lana Lobdell and Emily Schaffer will provide leadership for the UIC squad, while five juniors help anchor the upperclassman portion of the team. A trio of sophomores and four freshmen round out the 2009 Flames roster.
Nicole Allgood, a transfer from Louisville, is among the top newcomers in the Horizon League. Allgood posted incredible numbers in high school and still has 4 years of eligibility. The rookie has seen action in 31 sets of play so far, and has over 70 kills this season.
The Flames returned to their home hardwood to kick off the UIC Invitational this past weekend. The volleyball squad definitely made it interesting for the home faithful in its first match of the 2009 home schedule, taking a 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-16) win against Georgia State at the Flames Athletic Center.
"It was a great atmosphere here tonight," UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said. "We had a great crowd; it's good to be back at UIC."
The game was the second match of the UIC Invitational, with the tournament marking the beginning of the Flames' 2009 home schedule.
Game one was a barn burner, with neither UIC (2-6) or Georgia State taking more than a five point advantage at any point. The Panthers took their last lead with a 25-26 advantage, and the Flames were able to close out the first game 29-27 on back-to-back kills from Kelsey Safranek and Nicole Allgood.
The second game started out much like the first, with both teams playing even through almost game point. The Flames took a 24-19 advantage, but let Georgia State score three straight to push the tally to 24-22. It was again Safranek closing out the game 25-22 with the kill.
In the deciding game, the Flames came out with a more dominating performance. UIC was never behind in the third game, leading by as many as eight in the game. Three straight points on Taylor Szatkowski's service brought UIC to match point, but a Panther side-out put the ball back on the other side of the court.
Safranek then finished the game for the third time on the evening with a kill, giving UIC the 25-16 game win and the 3-0 sweep of Georgia State.
Casie Sullivan led the offense with 15 kills on the night, while Safranek had 13. Jessica Dalke dished out 47 assists, while Kate Eldred tallied 16 digs for the Flames.
"It was a great team effort tonight," Schumacher-Cawley said. "I thought Kelsey Safranek and Casie Sullivan stepped up and played well the entire match."
The Flames will return to the FAC this Tuesday to take on Central Michigan at 7p.m. before beginning conference play against Milwaukee Saturday at 4p.m.
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