Volleyball Season Wrap-up
12/11/2002 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 11, 2002
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois University volleyball closed out the season with its best finish in 17 years with a 23-10 overall record and a 12-6 Missouri Valley Conference mark.
Not only did the Salukis make it to the MVC Volleyball Tournament for the first time since 1998, they advanced to the championship match against #9 the University of Northern Iowa. Southern Illinois, the number three seed, defeated Illinois State, the number six seed, 3-1 in the quarterfinals. It was the first time in coach Sonya Locke's tenure at SIU that the Salukis had completed such a feat. The Redbirds held a 24-match winning streak over the Salukis coming into the tournament. SIU knocked off Southwest Missouri State, the number two seed, in the semifinals in five games. The number one seeded Panthers swept SIU in the championship match. The last time the Salukis played in a conference championship match was in 1985 against Illinois State at the Gateway Conference Tournament.
Coach Sonya Locke was the 2002 MVC Coach of the Year recipient for guiding her team, picked eighth in the preseason poll, to the MVC championship match. It was the first time an SIU volleyball coach received such honors. Along the way, Locke earned her first 20-win season at SIU. The Salukis ended the 2002 campaign with their best finish since 1986 when Debbie Hunter's team collected a 21-9 mark. The 1985 team finished with a 26-11 record. Locke picked up her 200th career win Oct. 19 at Indiana State.
Records/Stats--Senior outside hitter Kristie Kemner (Quincy, Ill., Quincy Notre Dame HS) set eight school records this season. She holds records in career kills (1660), attempts (4359), digs (1355), and double-doubles (60). Kemner has the single season records in kills (573), attempts (1450), and digs (503). She also set a record in attempts in a match with 74 swings against Bradley on Oct. 5 in Carbondale. Kemner recorded 30 digs, a career high, in the semifinals of the Valley Championships in the match against SMS which is second best in the Valley tourney. She had a career high 31 kills against Illinois State Sept. 21 in Davies Gym. Kemner also had 30 kills in the Oct. 5 match against Bradley. She ranks among the top 10 in school history in aces (139), matches played (119), and games played in a career (419). Kemner led the league averaging 4.74 kills per game and 4.16 digs per game in all matches and 4.79 kills per game and 4.13 digs per game in league matches. She was tied for sixth in service aces per game with .39 in all matches and fourth in conference matches averaging .41 aces per game. Kemner ranks fourth in the Valley for kills, fifth in attempts, and eighth for digs in a season. She is eighth in kills, seventh in attempts, and 13th in digs in a career in the conference.
Middle blocker Lindsey Schultz (senior, Valparaiso, Ind., Wheeler HS) put down a career high 27 kills in the semifinals of the MVC tourney against SMS. Her 27 kills places her tied for seventh on the Valley tournament record list. Schultz ended her career ninth in block solos (71) and fourth in block assists (284). She is ranked ninth with 93 block assists this season. Schultz is second at SIU with a .311 career hitting percentage behind coach Locke's .320. Her .311 also places her in the top five in Valley history for career hitting percentage. Her .338 hitting percentage this season places her third on SIU's single season list and ranks third in the Valley. She finished fifth in the league in kills per game with 3.67 in all matches and 3.68 in league play. Schultz was eighth in aces averaging .36 per game in all matches.
Setter Britten Follett (junior, Marengo, Ill., Marengo HS) tied for sixth on the Valley tourney record list with her 63 assists against SMS in the semifinals. Follett moved to the top of SIU's single season assists list in the championship match. She charted 1444 assists this year, and ranks eighth in assists in a career with 1531 which is seventh in the Valley for assists in a season. Follett ended third in the conference in assists per game with 11.93.
Senior Tara Cains (OH, LaPorte, Ind., LaPorte HS) moved to eighth on SIU's career block assists list with 256. She's tied for fifth in matches played (119) and seventh in games played (407) in a career.
Outside hitter Qiana Nelson (senior, Kankakee, Ill., Kankakee HS) recorded 343 digs this season, good enough for tenth on SIU's single season digs list. She finished the season tenth in the MVC in league matches with 2.99 digs per game.
Honors--SIU placed two on the MVC all-tournament team. Kemner and Schultz were named to the all-tournament team along with Emily Kabbes (Illinois State), Lindsay Stalzer (Bradley), Linette White (SMS), Sara Younes (Wichita State), Jill Arganbright (UNI), Molly O'Brien (UNI), and MVP Kim Kester (UNI).
Kemner and Schultz were MVC all-conference first team selections. Follett was named to the second team.
Schultz received MVC Player of the Week honors Sept. 2 and Kemner Oct. 7.
Academics--Follett became SIU's first Verizon Academic All-America University Division First Team member. She is the fourth Saluki volleyball player to be named to the Academic All-America First Team. Former players Jill Broker (1983), Lisa Cummins (1985) and Martha Fimhaber (1990, 1991) earned GTE Academic All-America First Team status. Follett is a radio and television major and holds a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Follett and Schultz were named to the Verizon Academic All-District V First Team. Kemner was a second team selection.
Six Salukis earned MVC Scholar-Athlete recognition more than any other conference school. SIU's Follett (4.00 GPA, radio/TV major), Kemner (3.56, speech pathology), and Schultz (3.75, civil engineering) were named to the first team. Receiving honorable mention were Cains (3.80, journalism), Nelson (3.42, business management), and Lisa Ciucci (3.83, animal science).
