UIC advances to the League Championship with 3-2 win over Cleveland State

Nov. 18, 2006

Dayton, Ohio - The University of Illinois at Chicago came out on top after a hard fought five-game match with Cleveland State University, 28-30, 30-25, 23-30, 30-26, 16-14.  The Flames will take on the winner from the second semifinal match between the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  The final is scheduled for tomorrow at 2:30.

Senior Ambria Springer had an outstanding performance for UIC as she finished with a match-high 23 kills, hitting .367 in the victory.  Two Flames notched double-doubles for UIC as junior Amanda Kenny pounded 18 kills and 13 digs, while junior Katarina Nedeljkovic found 14 kills and 14 digs.  Senior Julie Popp paced the defensive effort with 22 digs.

Freshman Alexis Korovich paced the Vikings with 20 kills and 13 digs.  Freshman Liz Fazio had a big day for Cleveland State at the net as she put down 17 kills, with classmate Beth Greulich posting 13 kills of her own.  Sophomore Jordan Bateman led the Vikings defensively, picking up a match-high 26 digs.

Cleveland State took game one 30-28, after trailing early.  The Vikings eventually tied the score at 14 after two consecutive kills from freshman Beth Greulich.  The lead changed hands several times before CSU pulled away.

The Vikings came out firing in game two, taking the early lead before UIC took control late.  Ambria Springer led the Flames attack, reeling off eight kills in the second game alone.

The third game saw several lead changes before a kill by Alexis Korovich propelled the Vikings to break away for good midway through the set.

The fourth game was much of the same as the momentum was pulled both ways early before the Flames eventually took charge.  The decisive fifth game included 11 ties, as the squads took the match to the wire.  The Flames put the match away for good off a kill from Amanda Kenny.

The 2006 Horizon League Championships will be held Nov. 17-19 at Wright State University's C.J. McLin Gymnasium.  The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, with the winner earning the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be begin Nov. 30 at campus sites. The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will take place at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, on Dec. 14 and 16.