Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Scrimmage shows depth of 2009 volleyball team
08/22/2009 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 22, 2009
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki volleyball team hosted a preseason scrimmage Saturday morning in Davies Gym. Besides adding five freshmen to the 2009 SIU squad, the team's home, Davies Gym, also received a significant face-lift in the off-season.
The building will have a slightly different look after gaining a new roof. The gym got a new coat of paint, ceiling tiles, doors and trim.
Saturday's scrimmage consisted of three sets to 25. Although a few players switched between the Saluki White and Saluki Maroon squads to give the coaching staff different looks at lineups, the nucleus of each team stayed consistent. The Maroon team won the first two sets by close margins, but the White team ran away with the third set.
"It shows we have real balance and depth," Saluki head coach Brenda Winkeler said. "You can put different players on different teams and still get equal outcomes. Defensively, I thought we did a great job. We're getting more balls up off the attack."
Individually, Winkeler thought sophomore middle blocker Jasmine Conner's performance stood out, along with freshman outside hitter Laura Thole.
"Thole can do a lot of different things," Winkeler said of the freshman "Today was her first full day back after an injury."
The scrimmage gave the coaching staff some things to work on as well before their opening tournament of the season, just a week away.
"Our passing wasn't on today," Winkeler added. "There were some serve receive errors we need to get rid of. Also, our offense in the middle was off today. (Middle offense) is usually a strength of our team, but with two new setters this season, that is something we need to work on."
The Salukis open the season on the road August 28-29 at the NIU Invitational hosted by Northern Illinois.
