Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Wichita State
Volleyball falls to Wichita State in three sets
10/15/2011 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 15, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois volleyball couldn't match Wichita State's consistency in a three-set loss Saturday at Davies Gym.
The Shockers (12-7, 6-3 Missouri Valley Conference) squeaked by the Salukis (9-9, 3-6 MVC) 25-22 in the first set before dominating the next two sets 25-17 and 25-13.
"Wichita State came off a loss last night that they definitely were very shocked by," said SIU head coach Brenda Winkeler. "They came prepared tonight. They were a very sharp team."
Southern showed plenty of fight early on, battling back-and-forth in a first set that featured nine ties and four lead changes. The Salukis were within striking distance late in the match with the Shockers leading 23-22, but WSU closed the set with a pair of kills.
"That first set came down to we made nine errors and they made five," Winkeler said. "They are very consistent and make very few errors. That was the difference."
After the opening set, in which Southern recorded 17 kills and hit for a .262 percentage, the Salukis couldn't find an offensive rhythm. Southern killed just eight balls each in sets two and three, hitting for sub-.100 clips in each set.
"To beat a team like this, we really have to have all things clicking. That definitely wasn't the case tonight," Winkeler said. "We haven't been able to find somebody on the left side opposite Jessica Whitehead to come in and consistently knock down some numbers. That is a position that you have to, because we are forced to put the ball out there a lot."
Whitehead led the Saluki offense with 12 kills while Laura Thole chipped in eight and Alysia Mayes had seven. Rachael Brown had another double-double with 26 assists and 11 digs while Bailey Yeager led the defense with 12 digs.
After seeing its blocking improve in recent matches, the Salukis took a step back against the Shockers, recording just four team blocks.
"Our passing improved, but it seems like how it has been going is if we get one thing, we don't get the other," Winkeler said. "We really never got a good hand on blocking them, so they were able to kind of dominate."
The loss marked Southern's third straight as the Salukis begin a three-match road swing next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21-22 at Creighton and Drake.
