Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
UT Martin
Big second set keys Volleyball's win over UT Martin
09/14/2010 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 14, 2010
By Dana Ingraham
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - In a match that was a lot closer than the score revealed, the Southern Illinois volleyball team came away with its eighth shutout of the season Tuesday night, defeating UT Martin 25-19, 25-23, 25-23 to round out its nonconference schedule.
"We didn't do the small things that we always talk about tonight," said head coach Brenda Winkeler. "Offensively we did well, but that was expected. Defense-wise and blocking-wise we just weren't getting the job done."
SIU (9-1) started off slow, playing its fourth match in five days, and quickly found itself in a battle right from the get-go. Southern's largest lead in the first set was at the 22-17 mark after two Bailey Yeager aces, bringing her season total to 21. Prior to the match, Yeager was ranked No. 11 in the country in service aces in the first week of NCAA standings, averaging 0.63 aces per set.
The second set was even closer than the first, and the Salukis could not seem to break free of the Skyhawks until Laura Thole came up with a huge solo block to shift the momentum and put the Dawgs ahead 22-21. Four plays later, Thole took matters into her own hands again, throwing down a powerful kill for the set point.
"Laura Thole came in and did a real nice job," Winkeler said. "She's been motivated to get her opportunity in the front row and tonight was a good chance for her to do that. We were saved by some good performances at the end of the second."
The two teams tied 13 times throughout the course of the third set and were locked at 23 until a kill from Sydney Clark and Jennifer Berwanger wrapped up the match for SIU.
Southern out-hit UTM .318 to .222, but the two teams were evenly matched in kills, both with 44. Rachael Brown recorded her ninth career double-double with 34 assists and 11 digs, while Alicia Johnson and Berwanger led the Saluki attack with 12 and nine kills, respectively.
With the nonconference portion of its schedule now complete, SIU looks ahead to opening up Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend. Southern will be in good company - Valley schools have combined for an impressive .741 winning percentage against nonconference opponents so far this season, so the competition in the conference is sure to be tight from the beginning.
"It will be a tough weekend for us," said Winkeler. "Creighton comes in here first, and they play a lot of tough teams so their record might not indicate a lot, but they played Iowa to five sets as well. Drake has done some nice things with their middles and they're quick which can cause us some problems, so we have a lot to prepare for this weekend."
The Salukis take on Creighton Friday night at 7 p.m. in Davies Gym, followed by an afternoon matchup with Drake Saturday at 4 p.m.
