Southern Illinois University
Creighton
Volleyball falls to Creighton, 3-1
11/17/2006 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 17, 2006
By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University libero Kristy Elswick picked up a game-high 29 digs in Friday night's 3-1 loss to Creighton, but the highlight of all of them came on dig No. 5 as with it she became one of only seven Salukis ever to reach the 1,000 dig plateau.
"At first I was kind of surprised, I had no idea," said Elswick. "It's a neat accolade, but at the same time I'm just helping out the team."
Elswick now has 543 on the season. She already owned SIU's single-season digs record coming into Friday's match, but now ranks No. 10 all-time in the Missouri Valley Conference in single-season digs. She is also currently No. 4 all-time at SIU in career digs with 1,024.
Despite Elswick's 29 digs and senior Johannah Yutzy's 20 kills and .405 hitting percentage, Creighton (19-9, 11-6 MVC) pulled out the 3-1 victory over SIU (11-16, 6-11 MVC), 30-20, 30-21, 28-30, 30-26.
"I thought we played well tonight against one of the top teams in the conference," said SIU head coach Brenda Winkeler. "We're not out of it yet, though, we have to come back tomorrow and get the win."
Even with the loss, the Salukis are still in the hunt for the final spot in the MVC Tournament, scheduled for Nov. 24-25 in Normal, Ill. Evansville lost to Drake, 3-2, Friday night to remain in a tie with the Salukis.
If SIU picks up a win over Drake Saturday night and Evansville falls to Creighton, the Salukis will pick up the sixth and final spot into the tournament.
Yutzy led the way offensively for the Salukis with her game-high 20 kills. Haley Hann chipped in 11 of her own as she finished the match with a .321 hitting percentage. Kristie Berwanger and Chandra Roberson finished the match with eight and seven, respectively.
Roberson, a freshman, also stepped on on defense with four block assists, giving her 100 on the season, ranking her seventh all-time at SIU. Erika Bartruff, Yutzy and Kelsie Laughlin each had three.
The Salukis return to action Saturday night as they host Drake in the final game of the regular season. SIU swept the Bulldogs earlier this season in Des Moines. Action is set to kick off at 7 p.m. in Davies Gymnasium.
