Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Drake
Volleyball Sweeps Drake 3-0
10/30/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 30, 2004
By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Jene' Pulliam's 14 kills and .458 attack percentage led Southern Illinois (8-16, 5-7 MVC) to a crucial 30-26, 30-22, 30-24 sweep over Drake on Saturday.
The 3-0 sweep, SIU's third of the year, moved the Salukis into a tie for sixth place with Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Conference battle for the six 2004 MVC Tournament spots.
"We just needed to win tonight, whether it was in three, four or five games. This win kept us in the race, and for our young team I think that this win was extremely important. We hit the road next week (Bradley & No. Iowa) and road matches are tough to win. We had to have at least one of these matches this weekend," said an excited Sonya Locke, SIU head coach.
The Salukis trailed 14-7 in game one, before Locke took a timeout. SIU outscored the Bulldogs 23-12 to win the game 30-26 behind the serving of Ashley Saverine and Haley Hann and multiple kills by Pulliam (5) and Jaime Hinsenkamp (4).
Southern Illinois pulled away from a 19-19 tie in game two, outscoring Drake 11-3 down the stretch to win 30-22. Game three was tied at 19-19 as well, before an 11-5 run ended the game 30-24 and match 3-0.
The Salukis hit .270 in the match, led by Pulliam's .458 performance (14K, 3E, 24TA), and held the Bulldogs to .147.
"Jene' Pulliam was awesome today. She was the critical factor in the match and we needed that. She made them hesitate at times, and when we have outside hitting like that we can win. She really came through for us today," added Locke.
A stunned Locke didn't even know the 3-0 sweep was the 100th conference win (Gateway & MVC) of her career as a head coach.
"I'm honored to have been able to reach that milestone while representing my alma mater. I've been blessed to work with some great players and coaches during my 14 years as a head coach and 25 years in the program overall," added Locke.
Defensively, Erica Miller's 12 digs led the Salukis and moved her up to eighth place on the all-time career digs list with 927.
Southern Illinois will be on the road at Bradley and Northern Iowa next weekend for MVC play.
