Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Wichita State
Volleyball falls to Wichita State, 3-0
10/07/2006 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 7, 2006
By Shalae Schulte
www.siusalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Wichita State volleyball team hit nearly .300 on the night with just 13 errors at the net to hand Southern Illinois its third straight sweep in Davies Gym Saturday.
The Shocker offense exploded in game one with 13 kills and zero errors, hitting .481 to handle the Salukis 30-17.
SIU came out early in game two, but six straight WSU points saw the lead slip away for good. Southern held the Shockers at game point to come back with six straight, but it wasn't enough as Wichita State prevailed 30-24, the closest game of the night.
The Salukis kept game three within four points until the Shockers pulled away at 21-17 with three kills and a service ace to win 30-21.
"Offensively we played a lot better than we did against Northern Iowa," Saluki head coach Brenda Winkeler said. "Game plan-wise we wanted to shut down Sara Lungren, who is one of their top players and we kept her at a .185 hitting percentage. We did a great job containing her."
Lungren, averaging 4.5 kills per game to lead the league this season, finished with just eight kills on the night. Angela Jakubov led the Shockers with a match-high 13 kills.
Right side hitter Haley Hann led the Salukis hitting .476 with 11 kills and just one error. Johannah Yutzy posted eight kills, while Kristie Berwanger and Kelsie Laughlin added seven each.
Defensively, Kristy Elswick posted a match-high 21 digs propelling her into the top-ten in the Saluki record books for digs in a season. So far this year, the sophomore has 364 digs, leading the league in Valley play, eighth all time at SIU.
"Blocking-wise, we also did a great job," Winkeler added. "That was another positive on the night."
The Salukis finished with two solo and eight block assists, including one solo and three assists from Hann.
The Shockers, the league leader in service aces this season, handed the Salukis 11, including six in the first game.
Setter Holly Marita sparked the Saluki offense off the bench. The senior, second all-time in career assists at SIU, finished the match with 21 assists and three digs.
"Holly has a lot of experience," Winkeler said. "She's a good setter and a little quicker than Erika (Bartfuff) is so if we're having problems with ball control, she comes in a tracks down a lot of balls that are errant."
The Salukis now go on the road for three straight matches. Thursday, Oct. 12, the Salukis travel to Evansville before heading north to take on Illinois State and Indiana State Oct. 20-21.
"We have to carry some momentum into Thursday," Winkeler said. "It's a hard place to play and this is an important match for us. Then we get a chance to have a weekend off and rest some nagging injuries."
