Berwanger and Whitehead earn MVC weekly honors

Oct. 25, 2010

By Dana Ingraham
SIUSalukis.com

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Southern Illinois outside hitters Jennifer Berwanger and Jessica Whitehead were named Missouri Valley Conference Player and Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

This is the first time this season either player has been recognized for such an honor.

Berwanger recorded 29 kills in SIU's five-set victory over Evansville last weekend, along with posting 18 digs to count for the 52nd double-double of her career. Her new career-high mark gives her 1,267 total kills, moving her into fourth-place all-time in the SIU record books for career kills. Berwanger's 67 attempts in the match brings her career total to 3,710 which is third all-time in school history. After the match against UE, Berwanger is ranked second in the MVC in kills, averaging 4.03 per set.

Whitehead shattered her previous career-high in kills against Evansville, finishing with 28. Just five errors in 48 attempts allowed for Whitehead's match-high .479 hitting percentage.

The last time Southern Illinois fielded two players with 20 or more kills in the same match was in 2002, in the MVC tournament against Southwest Missouri State when it was part of the Valley.

The Salukis return to the court this weekend, hosting No. 13 Northern Iowa Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a matchup with Bradley at 5 p.m. Saturday.