Southern Illinois University
Drake
Volleyball kennels the Bulldogs, 3-0
10/14/2005 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 14, 2005
By Shalae Schulte
www.siusalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Emotions ran high Friday night as Saluki volleyball icon, Sonya Locke's number seven jersey was retired in front a packed Davies Gym. Locke, the lone Saluki volleyball All-American and former head coach, had a request of the 2005 team as she wrapped up her speech.
"Take care of business tonight."
And that's just what her former team did.
Jene' Pulliam led the Salukis (6-11, 3-5) with a game-high 16 kills, hitting .519 on the night, with only two errors in 27 attempts to sweep Missouri Valley Conference foe Drake (2-18, 1-7), 30-25, 30-21, 30-19.
"We've been on the road for a long time," Pulliam said. "It's good to come home and have a good performance. I was really focused on getting the ball in than getting kills, picking at (Drake) weaknesses."
Katy DeWulf added 10 kills and Johannah Yutzy posted nine kills and a career-best seven block assists and one solo. Kristy Elswick had a game-high 11 digs, while setter Holly Marita recorded 39 assists, eight digs and a career-high six block assists.
SIU out-hit Drake, 49 kills to 35, holding the Bulldogs to .119 in the match. The Salukis, ranked number one in Valley play in service aces this season, recorded six on the night, including two each from Elswick and Haley Hann.
"One of the things I talked about all week is how we get anxious about winning and get tight. We forget to relax," head coach Brenda Winkeler said. "We stop thinking about the game plan and concentrate more on the outcome. I thought they did that night, played a little uptight and we want to come out tomorrow and relax. When we play more relaxed, we play our best volleyball."
The Salukis take on the Bluejays of Creighton Saturday at 3 p.m. in Davies Gym. The two teams are currently tied for sixth place in the Valley this season.
