Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Northern Iowa
Volleyball falls 3-0 at No. 15 Northern Iowa
09/16/2011 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois volleyball team opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 3-0 loss to No. 15 Northern Iowa Friday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The Panthers (11-1, 1-0 MVC) showed why they were the unanimous pick to repeat as MVC champs, defeating the Salukis (5-4, 0-1 MVC) 25-18, 25-14, 25-18.
Despite the lopsided scoreline, Southern showed flashes of against the Panthers, especially in the opening set. The Salukis struck first and held UNI at bay for much of the set, leading as much as 15-12. The Panthers responded with a 6-0 run, however, controlling the rest of the set for the 1-0 lead.
UNI continued its strong run into the second set, dismantling the Salukis by 11 points. SIU struggled offensively in the set, hitting for a -.176 clip with only four kills to 10 errors.
"In that second set, they have such a big block, we were trying to go around it instead of being aggressive and going at it," said SIU head coach Brenda Winkeler.
The Salukis bounced back in set three, playing the Panthers to another close set. Southern came back from an early deficit to take its first lead of the set at 12-11. The Salukis held the lead as late as 16-15 before UNI closed on a 10-2 run to complete the sweep.
The Panthers dominated every statistical category, posting 21 more kills (42-21) and 14 more digs (54-40) while out-hitting the Salukis .188 to .020.
"Their set distribution is equal to all players, including the setter," Winkeler said. "They don't have just five players out there attacking, they have six. It is very difficult."
Junior outside hitter Laura Thole led SIU with eight kills and seven digs while junior setter Rachael Brown had 19 assists and seven digs and sophomore defensive specialist Caitlin Schumacher chipped in eight digs.
Megan Lehman led UNI with nine kills while Bre Payton posted 30 assists and Amy Braun had 12 digs.
Southern looks to bounce back Saturday night at Bradley to complete its first MVC weekend of the 2011 season.
"We did some nice things tonight defensively as well as blocking. We held them to a .188 percentage, which is pretty good against a team with a high-powered offense like they have," Winkeler said. "We've got to take better care of the ball and play a little better offensively tomorrow night."
