Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Volleyball Loses 3-2 To Drake In MVC Play
10/01/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2004
By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
DES MOINES, Iowa - Southern Illinois (4-10, 2-2 MVC) came back from a 2-0 deficit and forced a fifth game against Drake, but the Salukis couldn't put away the Bulldogs, losing 3-2 on Friday at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
"We could have folded after they took a 2-0 lead, but the team fought back to win the next two games. It went down to the end and we had our chances, but just couldn't win the match," said a disappointed Sonya Locke, SIU head coach.
SIU served for the match at 14-13, and following a service error, made two more errors on the attack, to lose the match 30-27, 30-27, 23-30, 18-30, 16-14.
The Bulldogs (3-10, 1-4 MVC) had 26 blocks to just 3.5 for SIU, playing a key role in their first MVC win of the year. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak in the process.
SIU was led by Haley Hann's 16 kills and the accurate hitting of Ashley Saverine and Marissa Washington. Saverine hit a career-high .625 with 11 kills and just one error in 16 attempts, while Washington added 14 kills and just three errors in 26 attempts for a .423 mark.
Jene' Pulliam was the fourth Saluki with double figure kills with 12. Erica Miller chipped in with 17 digs on defense and Holly Marita led the offense with 43 assists and eight digs.
"Marissa had an awesome match. She was hitting around .700 early and finished over .400 for the match. She was strong in the middle tonight. Ashley Saverine played very well and hit the ball great tonight," added Locke.
Since winning three of five matches ending with a 3-2 road win over Evansville, SIU has lost four straight matches.
SIU will finish the weekend against Creighton in the Omaha Civic Center in Omaha, Neb. at 7 p.m. The Bluejays beat Evansville 3-1 to improve to 10-4, 2-3 in the MVC.
Saluki fans can follow live stats for the SIU-Creighton match on the Creighton website at http://www.gocreighton.com/sport_stats/live/vb/xlive.htm.
