CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – After winning its third match 24 hours to start the 2016 season, the UIC Flames (3-0) will return to Chicago as champions of the Redhawks Invitational by virtue of a straight-set win over New Orleans on Saturday, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 26-24).
 
UIC senior Alyssa Ehrhardt was named the tournament's most valuable player and she was joined on the Redhawks Invitational All-Tournament Team by classmates Kara Johnson and Kelsie Groot. Ehrhardt, who posted a career-high 27 kills in the season opener against Louisiana Tech on Friday, finished the two-day stint in the Show Me State with 53 kills, 27 digs, eight aces and four blocks. The Algonquin, Ill., native averaged a team-high 4.42 kills per set and converted at a clip of .293.
 
Groot, a graduate transfer, donned the Flames uniform for the first time this weekend and the Irvine, Calif., native delivered a pair of double-doubles, while finishing only one kill and two digs shy of the achievement in UIC's sweep of New Orleans on Saturday. Groot averaged 3.58 kills and 2.58 digs per set during the Redhawks Invitational, adding five service aces and a pair of blocks.
 
Johnson donned the libero jersey for the first time in her collegiate career this weekend and the Champaign, Ill., native was certainly up to the challenge. The senior collected a team-high 44 digs during the tournament for an average of 3.67 per set. Johnson set a career high in the category on Friday morning when she dug out 25 attacks against Louisiana Tech. She also aided the passing game as she chipped in with five assists from back-row position.
 
"I am proud that we had so many different people step up at key points throughout the tournament," said UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. "There is no way that we could have won these three matches without contributions from every player on our roster. We had people making smart, winning plays. Our seniors all brought great energy and focus, and the whole team fed off of that."
 
UIC picked up Saturday morning right where it left off Friday night. Five different players notched at least two kills in the opening set, which was won by the Flames, 25-17. Senior Casey Harris and Kyisha Hunt each hit .500 in the premiere game with identical lines of three kills, six attempts and no errors. Ehrhardt, Groot and Ali Witt tallied two terminations apiece in the set for the Flames. Setter Nicole Johnson had eight assists in the set, while Kara Johnson and Haley Sullivan each added one.
 
Witt, who finished with a career-high 11 kills to lead UIC in the victory, really helped close out a tight second stanza. The Flames held a late lead, 21-19, after a kill from Ehrhardt when Witt struck to extend the lead to three points. The Privateers went on a three-point run to even the ledger before the Crystal Lake, Ill., native terminated a feed from Nicole Johnson to put her team ahead, 23-22. A UIC service error allowed New Orleans to even the score again, but the Flames went right back to Witt in the middle and she scored to give UIC the lead before Groot finished off a 25-23 set victory.
 
With a two-set advantage, UIC got off to a slow start in the third set. The Privateers scored six straight times to begin the frame, but the Flames found their way in short order and began to chip away. Later it was 15-11 in favor of New Orleans, but a 6-1 UIC run gave the home team in this neutral-site affair its first lead in the third set. Harris had a pair of kills during the surge, while Ehrhardt and Groot also scored at the net. Another kill by Ehrhardt later on gave the Flames a 24-22 lead, but the Privateers scored twice in a row to stay alive. Then Groot notched her ninth kill of the day to gain a one-point lead. Gaia Gbola stepped up to serve and New Orleans attacking error ended the match in favor of UIC.
 
The Flames hit .408 (50k-8e-103a) as a team Saturday, which is the sixth-best single-match hitting percentage in team history. It is the best mark since the 1999 squad hit .435 (35k-5e-69a) against Chicago State on Sept. 8, 1999.
 
Witt hit .415 during the Redhawks Invitational after registering an attacking percentage of .667 (11k-1e-15a) on Saturday. Hunt, who secured a career-high 16 kills on Friday night against SEMO, added nine kills on Saturday as she hit .643 (9k-0e-14a) in the match, and .355 (31k-9e-62a) in the tournament. Nicole Johnson handed out 12.83 assists per set after doling out 40 more against the Privateers, while adding 20 digs, seven blocks and two aces.
 
With the victory UIC moved to 3-0 to open the season, marking the first time since 2011 that the Flames have opened a campaign with at least as many wins. That season the team won four consecutive games to open the slate, a number that UIC will try to match next time it takes the floor against Charlotte in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, Sept. 2.
 
Saturday's win signified a milestone in the career of head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley as it was the 100^th in her career. Now in her eighth season at the helm, the Chicago native ranks third in program history with those 100 victories.
 
"When I think about reaching a number like this, I think of the players who have come through this program since I have been here that make it what it is today," said Schumacher-Cawley. "I also have to thank the current team, the proud alums, and the assistant coaches and support staff like Ellen [Yopchick], Josh [Wielebnicki], our athletic trainer Sam [Marchese] and our strength and conditioning coach Eric [Guthrie] who have all been instrumental in the success of UIC volleyball."