Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Southwest Missouri State
Volleyball Swept By SMS 3-0, Eliminated From MVC Tournament
11/20/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 20, 2004
By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - It would not have mattered that Southern Illinois was eliminated from the 2004 MVC Tournament before their match with SMS, following Evansville's loss to Wichita State early Saturday afternoon.
SMS swept the Salukis 3-0 on Saturday to end the 2004 regular season for both teams. The 30-16, 30-18, 30-13 loss was the worst suffered by SIU all season. Southern Illinois was held to a record-low .000 attack percentage by the Bears, who hit .358, and allowed the Salukis a season-low 29 kills with 29 errors in 114 attempts.
The win avenged SIU's MVC season opening over the Bears and locked up third place in the MVC Tournament for SMS.
Jene' Pulliam (8 kills) and Jaime Hinsenkamp (7) led the Salukis. The two outside hitters had .000 and .043 attack percentages respectively.
Southern Illinois (9-21, 6-12 MVC) ended its season with a five-match losing streak and will miss the tournament for the second straight season. SIU had more wins (7 to 9) and twice as many MVC wins (3 to 6) than in 2003.
"I expected to have a roller coaster ride during the season because we were still young and had limited experience. I thought by midseason we would figure things out and get to the MVC Tournament. We had the talent to do it, but we just didn't get it done," said a disappointed Sonya Locke, SIU head coach.
"The positive is we improved as a team and we expected that as a staff. Our win-loss record doesn't show the significant improvement that these young kids made. We beat and played with teams that some people thought were better than us, like SMS. Our future is definitely bright if we can stay healthy."
