Volleyball 9/3/2018 9:51:00 PM Corey Miggins, Sports Information Director

Volleyball Hosts City Rival UIC in Home Opener Tomorrow Night

Senior Lauryn Dela Cruz

Match #8
UIC (4-2) vs. Chicago State (3-4)
Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 – 7 p.m.
Jacoby Dickens Center – Chicago, Ill.
Live Radio – Live Stats

CHICAGO -

Opening Serve – The Chicago State volleyball team takes a break from a lengthy travel schedule tomorrow night to host city rival UIC in its 2018 home opener at the Jacoby Dickens Center with the first serve set for 7 p.m.

Scouting the Cougars – CSU kicks off this week's slate sporting a 3-4 record on the young season after going 2-1 at the FIU Panther Fest in Miami last weekend with wins over Savannah State (3-1) and Delaware to go along with a 3-1 defeat to host FIU. Senior outside hitter Lauryn Dela Cruz (Provo, Utah/Timpview) leads the Green and White with 3.72 kills per set, while junior defensive specialist Megan Klavitter (Fenton, Mich./Linden) has produced a Western Athletic Conference-leading average of 5.20 digs a set and sits in a tie with junior outside hitter Beatriz Palmieri (Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil/Professora Carlina Cacapava de Mello) with a team-best eight service aces.

Scouting the Flames – Heading to the South Side with a 4-2 season record, UIC finished with a 1-2 record last weekend at the Omaha Invitational. The Flames posted a 3-2 victory over fellow WAC member UMKC in addition to dropping matches to UTEP (2-3) and host Omaha (1-3) with freshman outside hitter/middle blocker Clara Lamb being named to the all-tournament team. Freshman outside hitter Paola Santiago leads UIC in kills (49 – 2.33 kps) and service aces (nine) while ranking second in digs (61 – 2.77 dps). Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Manuela Conte (75 digs – 3.26 dps) and junior middle blocker Tatyana Ndekwe (31 blocks – 1.35 bps) are leading the team's defensive unit.

WAC Leader – Klavitter ranks first among the WAC dig leaders with an average of 5.20 per set which also ranks her 34th in the current NCAA Division I national leaders.

Cougars' Block Party – Last week, Chicago State averaged 2.29 blocks per set while senior opposite hitter Gabby Pearl (Farmer City, IL/Blue Ridge) and sophomore middle blocker Summer Farris (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) each averaged 1.33 blocks per set on 16 block assists. Pearl and Farris tallied eight block assists, respectively, in helping the Cougars defeat Delaware in the FIU Panther Fest finale last Saturday.

The Newbies Have Arrived - CSU brings in six newcomers to this season's squad with a four-year transfer (senior Gabby Pearl (Farmer City, IL/Blue Ridge)), two junior college transfers (junior Beatriz Palmieri (Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil/Professora Carlina Cacapava de Mello) and Kirah Williams-Shephard (Toronto, Canada/L'Amoreaux Collegiate Institute)) and three prep standouts (freshmen Autumn DeSantis (Canfield, OH/Cardinal Mooney), Nicole Luckey (Spokane, WA/Mead) and Kayla Malec (Spring Grove, IL/Richmond-Burton)) in addition to having redshirt junior middle blocker/opposite hitter Karen Asprilla (Cali, Colombia/Instituto Ser Internacional) play her first season after redshirting last year due to injury.

Up Next – CSU heads to Atlanta this weekend to play in the Georgia State Invitational against host GSU, Ole Miss and Sam Houston State. The Green and White open the tournament on Friday afternoon against Ole Miss with a start time of 3 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Karen Asprilla: MB/OPP; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

#8 Lauryn Dela Cruz: OH; 5' 8"; Senior

#1 Summer Farris: MB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#4 Megan Klavitter: L/DS; 5' 3"; Junior

#15 Gabby Pearl: OPP; 6' 2"; Senior

#2 Autumn DeSantis: OH; 6' 1"; Freshman

#3 Nicole Luckey: L/DS; 5' 5"; Freshman

#5 Kayla Malec: MB; 6' 1"; Freshman

#7 Beatriz Palmieri: OH; 5' 11"; Junior

#13 Kirah Williams-Shephard: OPP; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Karen Asprilla
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: MB/OPP

#8 Lauryn Dela Cruz
: 5' 8"; Senior
: OH

#1 Summer Farris
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MB

#4 Megan Klavitter
: 5' 3"; Junior
: L/DS

#15 Gabby Pearl
: 6' 2"; Senior
: OPP

#2 Autumn DeSantis
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH

#3 Nicole Luckey
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: L/DS

#5 Kayla Malec
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: MB

#7 Beatriz Palmieri
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OH

#13 Kirah Williams-Shephard
: 6' 2"; Junior
: OPP

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned