UIC sweeps Butler in the first round of the Horizon League Championships

Nov. 17, 2006

Dayton, Ohio - The University of Illinois at Chicago posted a strong, all-around performance as the Flames swept Butler University 30-20, 30-22 30-14, in the opening round of the 2006 Horizon League Championships.  The Flames will take on Cleveland State tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 in the first semifinal of the day.

Junior Amanda Kenny led the Flames with a double-double of 16 kills and 12 digs.  Junior Katarina Nedeljkovic came up just short of a double-double performance as she finished with 14 kills on .379 hitting to go along with nine digs.  Freshman Katerina Hanackova had 15 digs and senior Julie Popp notched 13 as the pair paced UIC defensively.  Hanackova also posted six service aces in the victory.

The Bulldogs struggled at the net because of a top stand by the UIC blockers.  Butler hit just .056 as a team and had 12 serve-reception errors for the match.  Freshman Porshia Allen led Butler with eight digs and eight kills as sophomore Nina Inic grabbed 10 digs.

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.