Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Volleyball begins conference play this weekend
09/17/2008 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2008
By Beth Miller
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois volleyball team will begin conference play this weekend as they host Indiana State on Friday and Illinois State on Saturday.
The Salukis head into conference action 8-1, the best start to a season since 1985. SIU is 3-0 at home after hosting the Hampton Inn of Carbondale Saluki Invitational last weekend where they defeated Arkansas State, SEMO, and Western Illinois.
"We hope to continue our streak at Davies," said head coach Brenda Winkeler. "It's nice to play in front of the excitement of our crowd. I think that really helped our players in the win over SEMO last weekend."
Indiana State is currently 4-6, heading into Friday night's match with a 10-day break from their last match against Butler. The Salukis are 35-15 against the Sycamores, and 5-58 against the Redbirds, who will be in town Saturday for the second conference match of the season. Illinois State posts a 6-5 overall record this season with losses to No. 1 Penn State and No. 23 Illinois.
"We need to make sure we're not overlooking Friday's match," said Winkeler. "Indiana state has a new coach and they are a brand new team. Neither match this weekend is more important than the other. These are two very important matches."
Saturday's match against Illinois State is "Pack the House" night. Last season's match against the Redbirds saw a record-breaking fan attendance of 713. SIU students receive free admission with their student I.D. and tickets for the general public are only $1.
"If you haven't seen Saluki volleyball yet this season, this is a great opportunity to come out and support the team," Winkeler said. "It's an exciting, fun team. You'll want to come back and be a part of the rest of the season."
Friday's match against Indiana State and Saturday's match against Illinois State are both scheduled for 7 p.m. at Davies Gym.
