Winning weekend for volleyball

Kyisha Hunt (Photo: Steve Woltmann)

UIC concluded an action-packed weekend of four matches in two cities Sunday by sweeping the visiting Chicago State Cougars, 3-0.

During the CEFCU Classic Saturday, UIC beat Bradley and Murray State to claim the CEFCU Classic title.

The Flames (6-3) never trailed in the match as they extended their winning streak to four matches.

UIC started fast by scoring seven of the first nine points. Freshman Kaliegh Skopal served a pair of aces during the early run, with the second prompting a timeout for the Cougars. Chicago State clawed its way back and found itself within a point of the Flames.

But UIC extended the lead back to four points after Manuela Conte connected on a pass from Carla Salvato for a kill. Kyisha Hunt punctuated the frame with her third kill of the set to seal a 25-20 victory for the Flames.

With two kills from Ali Witt, one from Hunt and a block by the pair, UIC opened a 4-0 lead in the second set. Chicago State used another early timeout and helped the Cougars eventually tie the score at 8, when Shontanae Addison served an ace. The Flames held a slim one-point lead before unleashing an 11-3 run that put CSU behind for good. UIC served four aces during that surge with Salvato, Skopal and Conte (2) all contributing. Hunt and Witt teamed up to block an attempt from Lauryn Dela Cruz to secure a 25-18 victory in the set and a 2-0 lead in the match at the intermission.

Conte fired back-to-back aces early in the third frame to give UIC an 11-5 lead. The cushion pushed to eight points, 18-10, after a kill from Hunt. The deficit was trimmed to two points with the Flames in the lead, 23-21, and following a timeout, Witt killed a feed from Skopal. UIC couldn’t build on the play with back-to-back miscues, but the Cougars returned the favor when Addison served the ball into the net to give the Flames a 25-23 victory.

The Flames host South Dakota State at 6 p.m. Wednesday.