Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Wyoming (Saluki Invitational)
Volleyball Beats Wyoming 3-1 At Saluki Invitational
09/11/2004 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2004
By Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Led by Ashley Saverine's 18 kills and Haley Hann's .480 hitting, Southern Illinois (2-4) hit a season-high .307, and dominated Wyoming (3-4) in a 3-1 win on Saturday to wrap up play at the 25th Saluki Invitational and win its first home match of the year.
"It was very important to end the tournament with a win. Hitting .307 is pretty good and that's what I know we're capable of. It's nice to see our kids play this way. It's very disappointing when we don't perform this way and hopefully this taste of success will get us going," said Sonya Locke, SIU head coach.
SIU won game one 34-32, before playing its best game of the year in game two, a 30-12 win. The Cowgirls battled back to win game three 30-19, but the Salukis closed the match with an impressive 30-18 win in game four.
"It was a compliment to this team to beat any team in a game 30-12. We played at a high tempo and we played great defense that game. I'm just glad that our kids could experience that, because that's the kind of volleyball we want to play all season," added Locke.
SIU served (13 aces to 4) and blocked (10 blocks to 6) better than Wyoming to control most of the match. The Salukis had just four receiving errors, while the Cowgirls had 13 miscues returning serve.
Hann hit a career-high .480 with 12 kills and no errors in 25 attempts in addition to four blocks. Setter Holly Marita had 50 assists, four aces and seven digs to go with a career-best .545 hitting percentage (6 kills, no errors, 11 attempts). Marissa Washington added nine kills and six blocks for Southern Illinois in the win. Erica Miller also chipped in with four aces and 17 digs. Washington was named to the Saluki Invitational All-Tournament Team for the Salukis.
The Salukis will host Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Davies Gym.
