Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Bradley
Volleyball lets Bradley slip away in five-set loss
09/17/2011 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois volleyball team led a 2-0 lead slip away in a five-set loss at Bradley Saturday night in Peoria, Ill.
The Salukis (5-5, 0-2 Missouri Valley Conference) took the opening two sets 25-22 and 25-16 before dropping the next three to the Braves (7-4, 1-1 MVC) 20-25, 22-25, 12-15.
Three SIU players had double-doubles and the Salukis put up some solid offensive numbers, but Southern couldn't close the door on the Braves when it had the chance.
The Salukis opened the match strong, never trailing throughout its first set, and only trailing briefly at the beginning of the second set. After two, the Salukis owned a 33-23 advantage in kills, and had out-hit the Braves .329 to .188.
The tide turned in the third frame when the Braves held off the Salukis in a close set to stay alive. SIU rallied from a 19-14 deficit late in the set to draw within 19-18, but Bradley closed the set on a 6-2 run.
Southern jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set, and looked to have things in control at 12-7 before Bradley worked its way back within two. The Salukis held the lead as late as 19-17 before the Braves closed the set on an 8-3 run.
Bradley used a 5-0 run midway through the fifth set to take a 7-4 lead that it would never give up, securing its first MVC win of the season. The Salukis hit for sub-.200 percentages in the last three sets while the Braves went over .200 each time.
Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Whitehead led the SIU attack with a season-high 22 kills while junior middle blocker Alysia Mayes added 13 kills with a .458 hitting clip. Sophomore outside Elly Braaten posted her first career double-double with a career-best 13 kills and 12 digs while junior setter Rachael Brown also had a double-double with 51 assists and a career-best tying 18 digs.
Junior outside Laura Thole was the final Saluki to post a double-double, finishing with 11 kills and a team-high 21 digs while junior defensive specialist Bailey Yeager added 16 digs.
Southern will look for its first conference wins Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23-24, when the Salukis host Drake and Creighton for their first MVC home matches of the season at Davies Gym.
