Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Creighton
Creighton downs Volleyball 3-1
09/24/2011 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2011
By Bill Ford
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, ILL. -- The Southern Illinois volleyball team's late rally fell just short in a 3-1 loss to Creighton in Missouri Valley Conference action Saturday at Davies Gym.
The Salukis (6-6, 1-3 MVC) rallied from a 2-0 deficit after dropping the first two sets 22-25 and 22-25 to take the third set 25-22. Southern held set point twice in the fourth only to watch the Bluejays (8-6, 3-0 MVC) finish the set on a 5-1 run to secure the win.
"We played very well, but at the end of a couple sets we had a chance to win it but didn't get it done," said SIU head coach Brenda Winkeler.
Southern stuck with Creighton through the opening two sets, but couldn't come up with timely kills at key junctures. The Salukis had 16 hitting errors in the first two sets, thanks largely to a tough Creighton block that finished the match with 13 stuffs.
"Our passing could have been a lot better. We had a lot of receiving errors," Winkeler said. "If there was a disappointment today, that would be it."
SIU finally found an edge in the third frame, using a 6-1 run midway through the set to go up 20-16. Creighton hung around, but the Salukis eventually finished the set strong for the win.
The fourth set saw 11 ties and eight lead changes before the Bluejays finally came out on top. SIU held set points at 24-22 and 24-23, only to let Creighton crawl back in it. The Bluejays scored the last three points to secure the win.
"We had a free ball and had a chance to win it, but we swung the ball out of bounds. That's just the way it goes," Winkeler said.
The match was a defensive battle throughout as the two teams combined for 170 digs and 22 blocks. The Salukis finished the match with a season-high 93 digs as five players recorded double-digit dig totals.
"I was very happy with our effort and the amount of balls we dug. We played a pretty sound game," Winkeler said. "Our serving was really good. We really did a good job of taking their middles out of it. I thought overall, we played a really good strategic game."
Junior outside hitter Laura Thole had a double-double with 15 kills and 22 digs while junior setter Rachael Brown also doubled up with 49 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Whitehead led the offense with 17 kills while Alysia Mayes chipped in 11 kills. Bailey Yeager finished with 17 digs while Caitlin Schumacher added 16 digs and Elly Braaten had 13.
The Salukis will step outside the MVC for a non-conference matchup with SIU Edwardsville Tuesday, Sept. 27, at Davies Gym before hosting Evansville Friday, Sept. 30.
