Oct. 27, 2009

Box Score

CHICAGO - An offensive onslaught was on display in Lincoln Park as the UIC volleyball team breezed past city rival DePaul Tuesday night at McGrath Arena.

The Flames (13-13) took advantage of a Blue Demons (6-17) squad who have been without a victory since September 25, routing DePaul in straight sets (25-16, 25-17, 25-9).

As a team, UIC posted a season-high .466 attack percentage, the second-best in program history. The Flames committed a scant seven errors in the sweep, the lowest output of the season.

UIC took control of the match from the get go and never relinquished, closing out the first set on a 15-6 tear behind the efforts of freshman Kelsey Safranek, who put up four of her 11 kills of the evening in the opening set.

It was much of the same in set two, as the Flames broke an 11-11 tie with an 11-4 run and eventually went into the 10 minute intermission with a two-set lead.

The third set was a display of offensive efficiency, as UIC posted a monster .812 team attack percentage, committing no errors and hammering down 13 kills to close things out with a 25-9 thrashing of their Big East foe.

"I am proud of the team and the way they fought for every point," said head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley. "Each player took care of their responsibility, and we have been working hard on total team effort and saw it come to fruition tonight. We are looking forward to having an exciting weekend at home."

Safranek went errorless on the evening with her match-high 11 kills for a .733 attack percentage, while Jessica Dalke earned 32 assists against DePaul. Taylor Szatkowski led all with 14 digs.

UIC hosts a pair of critical Horizon League contests this weekend, starting with Wright State on Friday night at 7 p.m.