Volleyball to host Drake and Creighton

Match Facts
Date(s): October 5-6, 2007
Site(s): Davies Gym (1250)
The Series: SIU leads DU, 27-14
SIU trails CU, 9-17
Head Coaches: Brenda Winkeler (113-113 overall, 31-41 at SIU)
Amy Farber Knowles (166-146 overall, 17-59 at DU)
Kirsten Bernthal Booth (78-58 overall and at CU)
Radio: www.WIDB.net
Video Stream: n/a

On the Schedule This Week
The Salukis return to Davies Gym for Homecoming weekend to host Drake (Fri., Oct. 5, 7 p.m.) and Creighton (Sat., Oct. 6, 7 p.m.) before going on the road for two weeks.

Series History
The Salukis trail in the series against Creighton, 9-17, while leading the series against Drake, 27-14. The Jays have an eight-match win streak against SIU, while the Bulldogs and Salukis split a year ago.

Best Start Since 1985
For the first time since 1985, the Southern Illinois volleyball team is 10-4, 14 games into the season. The Salukis swept two of three tournaments to start the season, 2-1 after the first weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play.

Scouting Drake
The Bulldogs are 5-11 overall and 2-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Nicole Brown leads DU with a .261 hitting percentage and 0.85 blocks per game. Angela Bys and Emily Madden average 3.57 and 3.29 kills per game respectively, while the setting duties are handled by Chelsea Lauersdorf (7.16 apg) and Sarah Schuster (7.03 apg).

Scouting Creighton
The Jays are 11-5 on the season and a perfect 5-0 in The Valley this season. Kelly Goc leads the team with a .341 hitting percentage, 3.61 kills and 0.94 blocks per game. Setter Korie Lebeda is fifth in the league at 11.62 assists per game.

Salukis are Medic - aided
Over the last year, Saluki middle blocker Marina Medic has added three inches to her vertical and gone from a utility back-up to one of the top middles in the league leading The Valley in hitting percentage at .368, third in blocks (1.25 bpg). The sophomore was named the MVP of two tournaments this season, hitting over .300 in 10 of 16 matches this season.

Sisters v. Sisters, Berwangers Win
Friday, Sept. 21 the Bewanger sisters of SIU faced the Sylvester and Walroth sisters of UE. Victory Berwangers. The sisters from Lake Zurich, Ill. combined for 27 kills, 20 digs and three block assists in the three-game sweep of the Aces. Jennifer picked up her third-career double-double of the year, earning MVC Freshman of the Week honors.

2007 team close to win mark
The Southern Illinois volleyball team looks to surpass their 11-win season a year ago, the best mark since 2002. Since Brenda Winkeler took over the program in 2005, the team has steadily improved each year. The Salukis currently sit one match away from 11 wins.

Elswick digs her way to the top
After six weeks of play, Saluki libero Kristy Elswick is just 19 digs away from the all-time record at SIU. She averages 4.86 digs this year, fifth in the league, moving to second all-time passing former Salukis Mary Maxwell and Debbie Barr in the first three weekends of play. She received all-tournament team honors at the Tribe Classic Aug. 31-Sept. 1. She recorded a career-high 33 digs against William & Mary, third all-time. Her 5.75 dig per game average ranked 19th in the nation in 2006, leading the Missouri Valley Conference.

Digs in a Season
1. Kristy Elswick (2006) 569
2. Kristie Kemner (2002) 503
3. Kristy Elswick (2005) 481

Digs in a Career
1. Kristie Kemner (1999-02) 1355
2. Kristy Elswick (2005-pr.) 1337
3. Debbie Barr (1996-99) 1113
4. Mary Maxwell (1980-83.) 1077

Roberson Blocks with Best
Saluki middle blocker Chandra Roberson averaged 1.32 blocks per game overall in 2006. Her 105 block assists last season helped the freshman climb to fifth all-time for blocks in a season. Roberson is the first Saluki since 1997 to have a block per game average above 1.3. The team's blocking average of 2.60 was the highest in school history, since the stat has been kept. This season as a sophomore she averages 1.16 blocks ranking in the top-10 in The Valley.

Block assists in a season
1. Sonya Locke (1981) 191
2. Sonya Locke (1982) 140
3. Dana Olden (1991) 112
4. Pat Nicholson (1985) 111
5. Chandra Roberson (2006) 105

Single-match Attendance Record Broken Friday, Sept. 14, Southern held a "Pack the Gym" night in hopes of setting a new attendance record in Davies Gym at the Missouri Valley Conference opener against Illinois State. Davies was filled with 713 fans, breaking the previous record of 668 set November 9, 1990 against UNI.

Three make All-Tournament...again
Sophomore middle blocker Marina Medic was named the Most Valuable Player, while sophomore outside hitter Kelsie Laughlin and junior setter Brooklyn Robbins were also named to the team at the 2007 MSU Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational Aug. 24-25... two weeks later, Medic (MVP) and Robbins were repeats on the 28th Saluki Invitational All-Tournament team joined by Kristie Berwanger.

Salukis Seeing Double
Right side hitter Kristie Berwanger currently leads the team with 13 career double-doubles including three in a row Sept. 7-8 at the 28th Saluki Invitational. Kelsie Laughlin is second on the team with seven, while setter Brooklin Robbins has six.

Former Saluki setter Holly Marita recorded the last triple-double in program history in 2003 against Iowa (10 kills, 51 assists, 12 digs)

2007 Saluki Double-Doubles
Player (number) Last Double-Double
Brooklyn Robbins (6) Missouri State • 9-28-07 (51 assists, 13 digs)
Kristie Berwanger (13) Missouri State • 9-28-07 (12 kills, 17 digs)
Kelsie Laughlin (7) Missouri State • 9-28-07 (11 kills, 11 digs)
Jennifer Berwanger (3) Evansville • 9-21-07 (14 kills, 12 digs)
Jennifer Berwanger (2) Indiana State • 9-15-07 (10 kills, 12 digs)
Kristie Berwanger (12) Illinois State • 9-14-07 (11 kills, 14 digs)
Kelsie Laughlin (6) Murray State • 9-8-07 (12 kills, 14 digs)
Kristie Berwanger (11) Murray State • 9-8-07 (17 kills, 21 digs)
Brooklyn Robbins (5) Murray State • 9-8-07 (60 assists, 17 digs)
Kristie Berwanger (10) UMKC • 9-8-07 (18 kills, 20 digs)
Brooklyn Robbins (4) UMKC • 9-8-07 (42 assists, 13 digs)
Kristie Berwanger (9) Cleveland State • 9-7-07 (18 kills, 11 digs)
Kelsie Laughlin (5) at William & Mary • 9-1-07 (18 kills, 12 digs)
Brooklyn Robbins (3) vs. Kent State • 8-31-07 (34 assists, 11 digs)
Jennifer Berwanger (1) vs. Eastern Kentucky • 8-25-07 (10 kills, 14 digs)
Brooklyn Robbins (2) at Morehead State • 8-25-07 (44 assists, 12 digs)
Kelsie Laughlin (4) vs. West Virginia • 8-24-07 (18 kills, 10 digs)
Brooklyn Robbins (1) vs. West Virginia • 8-24-07 (34 assists, 15 digs)

Picked Sixth in Preseason Valley Coaches Poll
The Southern Illinois volleyball team was picked sixth in the 2007 MVC preseason coaches poll for the second-straight season. The Salukis finished with 39 points. Southern finished tied for sixth a year ago, even with Evansville, who nipped the Salukis and took the sixth spot in the tournament. Defending regular season and tournament champion Northern Iowa was picked to win with 97 points and seven first-place votes.

Four New Faces in 2007 Class
The Southern Illinois volleyball team adds four new faces to the team in 2007, including three freshmen. Brooklyn Robbins is the lone junior college transfer, a setter from Parkland Community College where she was a two-time All-American. Sydney Clark is a freshman outside hitter from Evanston, Ill. Jasmine Conner, a middle blocker from Flossmoor, Ill., and Paris Leonce, a right side hitter from Powder Springs, Ga., are also new additions to the 2007 squad.

Salukis Strive in the Classroom
For the second-straight season, the Saluki volleyball team was award the GamePlan/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2006-2007 season. Three Southern Illinois volleyball players (Kristie Berwanger, Kristy Elswick and Johannah Yutzy) were recognized as Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athletes for 2006 by a vote of the league's sports information directors. All were named honorable mention all-academic. Berwanger and Yutzy also went on to be named to CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Five third team.

On the World Wide Web
Media, student-athletes and fans can access the most up-to-date information pertaining to Saluki Volleyball by visiting www.siusalukis.com. Features of the site include player and coach profiles, statistics, schedules, rosters and press releases.