UIC was three points from losing the opening set when its match against Murray State began to change. The Racers led 24–21, leaving the Flames little room for another missed opportunity. UIC recovered, won the set 29–27 and then took increasingly firm control of the next two sets to complete a 3–0 victory on October 10.
The sweep at Credit Union 1 Arena brought the Flames to 7–11 overall and 3–3 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Murray State fell to 2–16 and 0–6 in league play. The final scores—29–27, 25–17 and 25–15—show a match that began with a difficult escape and ended with UIC holding a substantially clearer advantage.
Emma Colombari led the Flames with 13 kills and added 11 digs. Tamara Kisic, Gabi Peter and Robyn Ward each recorded 11 kills, giving UIC four players in double figures. The attack did not depend on one hitter producing a large enough total to carry the rest of the lineup.
The opening set required a recovery
Murray State’s 24–21 lead was the clearest danger UIC faced. A kill by Maryam Hussein, a kill by Kisic and a block involving the pair erased that immediate deficit. The teams then continued trading opportunities before UIC finally separated itself at the end.
The Flames’ ability to survive that sequence mattered beyond the first set on the scoreboard. Had Murray State converted one of its early set-point opportunities, UIC would have needed to recover from a set down. Instead, the Racers had to respond to a lead that disappeared after they had moved within one point of finishing the set.
Ward supplied a kill during the extended closing stretch, and Colombari finished the set with the deciding kill. Several players therefore participated in the recovery rather than leaving it to a single late swing. That distributed contribution foreshadowed the broader attacking numbers at the end of the match.
The attack becomes more efficient
UIC finished with 58 kills and twelve attack errors in 117 attempts, a .393 hitting percentage. Those totals explain why the final two sets became less precarious. The Flames were producing points through their own attack without repeatedly giving them back through errors.
The second set was still competitive through its middle stages. UIC led 19–17 before taking the final six points to win 25–17. A set that had remained within two points at that stage ended with an eight-point margin. The deciding difference was a sustained closing run rather than one isolated change of serve.
The third set followed a similar pattern. UIC led 17–13 and then moved beyond Murray State’s reach. The Flames’ scoring in the late stages gave the match a much different finish from the first set’s extended contest. Ana Petrides recorded the final kill to close the 25–15 set and complete the sweep.
Four hitters share the scoring
Colombari’s double-double combined offensive production with defensive work, but the match also depended on the balance around her. Kisic contributed four blocks and two service aces in addition to her eleven kills. Ward had four blocks, while Peter added two. Hussein finished with three blocks.
Setters Paulina Ströh and Mihaela Harizanova recorded 30 and 21 assists respectively. Libero Ava Young led UIC with eighteen digs. Those roles are necessary context for the attacking totals: hitters need playable possessions, and the defense needs to extend rallies long enough for the offense to get another useful chance.
For UIC, that combination produced a match with more than one way to score. The Flames could finish through several attackers, add pressure at the service line and use the block to interrupt Murray State’s response. A balanced box score does not automatically prove a team has solved its season, but it shows why this particular performance became difficult for the opponent to counter.
A weekend changes the league position
The victory followed UIC’s four-set win over Evansville the previous evening. The two home results moved the Flames from a losing conference record to 3–3. That change matters because it gives the team a more workable position before the next road stretch without erasing the losses that created the earlier deficit.
The two matches also required different finishes. Against Evansville, UIC recovered after dropping the third set and pulled away late in the fourth. Against Murray State, it had to rescue the opening set before using cleaner attacking production to finish in three. The useful common thread is the ability to complete the match after the opponent created an uncomfortable moment.
UIC next travels to Drake on October 16, with a 6 p.m. Central start listed by the Flames. Saturday’s sweep gives the team a productive result to carry into that preparation. Its most valuable evidence is specific: four double-figure kill totals, strong attacking efficiency and a closing stretch that turned a narrow opening escape into a completed home victory.
