Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Volleyball Faces Streaking Murray State In Non-Conference Play
10/13/2003 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2003
By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
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CARBONDALE, Ill. - Fresh off its first Missouri Valley Conference win of the year over Indiana State last Saturday, Southern Illinois (5-14, 1-7 MVC) faces a red-hot Murray State squad on the road in non-conference play on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Murray, Kentucky. The Racers (11-4, 6-0 OVC) have won a school-record 11 straight matches after opening the season 0-4, including all six Ohio Valley Conference matches, to sit in first place in the OVC.
"They're playing at home against us and they're doing well in their conference, so we expect it to be a tough match. We need to get better at everything we're doing in a match and be consistent to keep winning. We must control the ball, play great defense and serve well. Serving well can help break down another team's offense," SIU head coach Sonya Locke said.
"Anytime you're struggling to win, a win is a boost to the confidence of the team. We had lost a tough match the night before (Illinois State on Friday) and we found ourselves having to prevent a loss when we were up 2-0, which was a disappointment. We found a way to hang on to win. Our serving was really important and we did a decent job with that in the match. We have a goal to get back to the MVC Tournament and every match from now on counts. We don't have any room to settle for playing well. We have to win."
The Salukis lost 3-2 to Illinois State on Friday before bouncing back to beat Indiana State 3-2 on Saturday for their first MVC win. The Salukis also beat Tennessee-Martin 3-1 on Tuesday to snap a four-match losing streak.
Jene' Pulliam had 39 kills last week including a career-high 17 kills and .361 hitting percentage versus Tennessee-Martin and a double-double (11 kills, 10 digs) against Indiana State. Marissa Washington added 33 kills and a team-high .324 hitting percentage for the week, including a career-high 12 kills versus Tennessee-Martin. Kelly Harman added 34 kills and 32 digs, including double-doubles vs Tennessee-Martin (15 kills, 13 digs) and Illinois State (11 kills, 10 digs).
SIU swept Murray State 3-0 last year and leads the overall series 9-1. The Salukis are 2-1 under Locke versus MSU.
Southern Illinois is led by the senior Harman (177 kills, 2.64 kpg, 170 digs, 2.54 dpg, 12 aces), juniors Carrie Shephard (121 kills, 62 blocks, .89 bpg, 18 aces, 55 digs) and Erica Miller (154 digs, 2.30 dpg), sophomore Washington (122 kills, .264 Hitting %, 52 blocks, .74 bpg, 56 digs, 11 aces) and freshmen Holly Marita (673 assists, 9.22 apg, 165 digs, 2.26 dpg, 26 aces), Haley Hann (164 kills, 2.25 kpg, 44 blocks, 90 digs, 16 aces) and Pulliam (115 kills, 2.40 kpg, 89 digs, 1.85 dpg).
