Hot start for volleyball team
Kyisha Hunt (from left), Alyssa Ehrhardt and Kelsie Groot earned spots on the All-Tournament team after the JAX Classic in Florida. At 6-0, the Flames have their best start since 2000, with the chance to match the best start in Division I history Friday.
At 6-0, Flames are off to their best start since 2000 after picking up two more wins Saturday, defeating the Presbyterian Blue Hose, 3-1, and the Jacksonville Dolphins, 3-0, at the JAX Classic in Florida.
The Flames have a chance to match the best start in Division I program history — which dates back to 1984 — when they meet Albany at 4:30 p.m. Friday during the DePaul Invitational.
Graduate transfer Kelsie Groot was named the JAX Classic’s most valuable player. She was joined on the All-
Tournament Team by fellow outside hitter Alyssa Ehrhardt and right-side hitter Kyisha Hunt. Groot and Ehrhardt finished with 40 kills, an average of 3.64 per set. Groot hit .305, committing only eight attacking errors in 105 attempts in the tournament. In her team’s two victories Saturday, the Irvine, Calif., native hit .371.
Ehrhardt averaged 3.36 digs per set and led UIC with five service aces at the tournament. The reigning Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week hit .250 and averaged 3.36 digs per set. Hunt averaged 3.55 kills per set and hit at a clip of .358 in the tournament. She added four blocks in the tournament, matching Ali Witt for team-high honors.
“As a team, there is no doubt that we played our best volleyball of the season,” UIC head coach Katie Schumacher-
Cawley said. “It is always a challenge to play two matches in one day, but we came in against Jacksonville focused and prepared. I thought we had great energy at the start and it carried us through the match.
“As we continue to grow together and fight for each other, the sky is really the limit. Everyone in our locker room is proud of the way that we’ve started the year, but we also know that there are things we can all do to improve. We’re all excited to continue working hard for each other.”
