Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Illinois State
Volleyball falls to Illinois State, 3-0
11/21/2008 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2008
By Beth Miller
www.SIUSalukis.com
NORMAL, Ill. - The Southern Illinois volleyball team fell to Illinois State in three straight sets (23-25, 23-25, 20-25) Friday night, eliminating their chances of an MVC Tournament berth.
The Salukis (16-12, 6-11 MVC) battled hard for the win over ISU (15-14, 8-9 MVC) for a chance to go to the tournament for the second season in a row, but were unable to hold off the Redbirds. Chandra Roberson went 12 for 27, hitting .346 to lead the Salukis, while Kristy Elswick and Jennifer Berwanger led the team in digs with 15 each. J. Berwanger's 15 digs combined with 12 kills, gave the sophomore her 24th career double-double.
"We had leads, but then we came up short," said head coach Brenda Winkeler. "We were pretty much in command and stopped their outside. But while they had more attack errors than us, we were lacking 11 kills."
Despite the sweep, the Salukis kept the match close hitting .165 to the Redbird's .211. Illinois State recorded only seven more assists that SIU, posting 68 digs over Southern's 65.
"The stats were pretty balanced," Winkeler said. "We just didn't put the ball away at opportune times."
The Salukis will be back in action tomorrow night as they travel to Indiana State for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Sycamores.
