Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
West Virginia
Volleyball downs Mountaineers in four to open the season
08/24/2007 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 24, 2007
By Shalae Schulte
www.siusalukis.com
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Led by double-doubles from setter Brooklyn Robbins and outside hitter Kelsie Laughlin the Southern Illinois (1-0) volleyball team handled West Virginia (0-1) in four games (30-26, 28-30, 30-18, 30-26) to open the 2007 season at the MSU Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational hosted by Morehead State.
Southern came out strong in the first game of the match hitting .250 with just eight errors and 19 kills. When their hitting efficiency dropped to .103 in game two, so did their momentum falling short by two points. They bounced back in game three hitting a match-best .469 with just three errors and 18 kills taking that momentum into the fourth game for the win.
Robbins, a junior college transfer, recorded 34 assists and 15 digs in her first match as a Saluki. Laughlin, boasted a career-high 18 kills, hitting a career-best .361 with just five errors in 36 attempts for her fourth double-double in two years. The sophomore added a game-high four service aces and two block assists as Southern won its second-consecutive season-opener.
Defensively, the Salukis had the advantage, out-blocking and out-digging the Mountaineers, holding them to a .097 hitting percentage. Southern recorded 10.0 team blocks, Kristie Berwanger and Marina Medic with four block assists each. Berwanger also added a solo. Freshman middle blocker Jasmine Conner added a team-high two solo blocks to go with two block assists. Led by Saluki libero Kristy Elswick with a match-high 21 digs, SIU recorded 62 on the afternoon.
Kristie Berwanger posted 16 kills, seven digs, three service aces to go with her defensive work at the net, while Medic added six kills and four block assists.
The Salukis will wrap up tournament play Saturday, facing host Morehead State at 10:30 a.m. and Eastern Kentucky at 3:30 p.m.
Live stats are available at http://www.msueagles.com/livestats/womensvolleyball/xlive.htm.
