Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Wichita State
Volleyball ends season in MVC Tournament against Wichita State
11/26/2009 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 26, 2009
By Shalae Patrick
www.SIUSalukis.com
OMAHA, Neb. - The Southern Illinois volleyball team ended the season with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-27, 25-23, 25-19) loss to Wichita State in the opening round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday night in D.J. Sokol Arena.
The No. 3 Shockers (24-5) hit .272 in the match with 66 kills to take down the No. 6 Salukis (18-12) who finished with a .189 clip.
"I thought we came back after the first set and played aggressive," Saluki head coach Brenda Winkeler said. "We were in almost every set until, just as we've struggled all season, we had a couple rotations we couldn't get out of with our passing and our offense went stagnant. I thought we blocked well and for the most part our offense played well against a good Wichita State team."
Alicia Johnson led Southern with 14 kills and 15 digs, adding five block assists and two service aces.
Jennifer Berwanger and Sydney Clark added 10 kills each, while Laura Thole and Lauren Blumhorst combined for 25 digs.
Rachael Brown led the Saluki offense with 39 assists, while Alysia Mayes and Chandra Roberson added six block assists apiece. Roberson added six kills and four digs in her final match in a Saluki uniform.
"After the break (the Shockers) changed up their offense," Winkeler added. "(Wichita State's) RPI is 24th in the country and they are one of the top 30 to 40 teams in the nation. They have a lot of weapons so they just went into the locker room and changed things up and used a balanced offense to beat us."
The Shockers put four players in double-digit kills led by Emily Stockman with 20 kills. Sarah McGee added 16 kills, while Kim Wadsworth posted 12 kills and Emily Adney, 10.
Mary Elizabeth Hooper recorded the Shockers' lone double-double with 54 assists and 12 digs. WSU libero Melissa Granville recorded a match-high 24 digs.
Saluki seniors Roberson, Kelsie Laughlin, Marina Medic and Caitlin Dugger played in their final college match. Roberson leaves the program, the all-time leader in block assists, ranking in the top-10 in matches played, career kills, sets played and solo blocks. Laughlin ranks in the top-10 in career digs.
