Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
7-9, 1-3MVC
Loyola
6-8, 2-3MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyola | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Southern Illinois | 22 | 19 | 27 | 23 | 1 |
Salukis drop match against Loyola, 3-1
10/03/2014 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki volleyball team (7-9, 1-3 MVC) fell 3-1 in a tough match against Loyola (6-8, 2-3 MVC) on Friday night. Down 2-0, the Salukis rallied back to take the third set in a thrilling finish, 27-25, but the Ramblers finished the match in the fourth, edging SIU 25-23.
Junior Taylor Pippen led the Salukis hitting .480 with 14 kills on 25 attempts. Freshman Andrea Estrada followed with 12 kills for a .296 hitting percentage. Sophomore Hannah Kaminsky added to the Salukis' offense with 36 assists. Defense, however, is where the Salukis struggled. Loyola's Morgan Reardon led the match with 18 kills.
"I think when things slip they tend to slip in bunches for us, so it slipped in serve receive, and then on service and then attacks. When it happens like that against any team in this league you have to be ready to be consistent, and right now we're not," head coach Justin Ingram said.
The Ramblers took control of the match in the first set with early point runs to take a quick lead over SIU. An attack by freshman Abby Barrow midway through the set propelled the Salukis to a four-point run to take a one-point advantage. The score tied seven times before Loyola closed out the set on back-to-back kills.
Loyola's offense was hot in the second frame, and SIU had a hard time putting service pressure on the Ramblers. Loyola sided out at 73 percent in the second set, compared to SIU's 56 percent. Three aces and a five point run allowed the Ramblers to take an early 11-5 lead, and the Salukis were never able to regain composure, finishing the set 25-19.
"When they side out at such a high efficiency, we're not putting enough pressure on them. They exploited a weakness of ours and hopefully we get better at it," Ingram said.
The start of the third frame resembled the previous two with SIU trailing from the start. But an 8-1 scoring run, with three kills by Estrada, one by sophomore Leah Edgerton and tough serves by sophomore Meg Viggars, pushed the Salukis to take a five-point lead. The set came down to the wire, with the Salukis held at set point twice and Loyola once, but SIU pulled through and took the set on an ace by Estrada.
"We were focused on just getting the next point, we weren't thinking too far ahead. If you think too far ahead you just get in front of the game, and you just need to play to every point," Viggars said.
The Salukis put up a fight in the fourth set, rallying back halfway through the frame to tie the score 10 times. With the score tied at 16, SIU and Loyola scored eight-straight side outs, keeping the score tight through the end. But four consecutive points by the Ramblers ended the set and the match, 25-23.
SIU returns to Davies Gym on Saturday at 3 p.m. to host the Bradley Braves (0-15, 0-5 MVC).
"Their record is irrelevant," Ingram said. "We need to expect a battle and Bradley's best and we need to bring our best and hone in on playing at our best level."
