CHICAGO, Illinois — Maryland Eastern Shore found themselves in a hole early on Saturday (Aug. 25), trailing host UIC 16-6 in the first set. Despite a couple of challenges by the Hawks later in the match, the Flames used that momentum to defeat the Hawks in straight sets (15-25, 24-26, 17-25)

Senior Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia) led the match with 12 kills and senior Maja Jankovic (Ruma, Serbia) led with 10 digs. Freshman Mauri Carver (Elizabeth City, North Carolina) added two kills in four attempts.

"UIC did a good job on their serves and blocks, which slowed our offense down." Hawks coach Trevor Callarman said. "These tough challenges will makes us stronger."

Uncharacteristic errors on the part of the Hawks factored in the loss. Maryland Eastern Shore (0-2) had 26 kills to 26 errors, their lowest hitting percentage since September 2014. UIC outpaced the Hawks in assists 30 to 23 and in aces 12 to three.

UIC (2-0) was led by Ali Witt who earned 8.5 points off of five kills, a solo block and three blocks. In addition to their 16-6 start, the Flames came back from 13-8 down to win set two, before using a 6-0 run to seal the match.  

The Hawks will challenge Bryant to close out their trip in Chicago. A 6 p.m. EDT first serve is lined up.