Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saluki Volleyball: 2014 Season in Review
12/11/2014 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki volleyball team concluded the 2014 season with a 16-15 overall record, 10-9 in the MVC, after the team's third consecutive appearance at the conference tournament.
The season was filled with excitement with a record-breaking hitting efficiency by junior Taylor Pippen, breakthrough performances by several of the team's freshmen, MVC Athlete of the Week laurels for senior Alex Rivera and an end-of-the-season win streak that moved the Salukis to fifth-place in the Valley.
SIU struggled at the onset of the season, going 3-6 in the first half of conference play. But a second-half surge swung the momentum in the Salukis' favor, helping them close out the season with crucial 3-2 victories over Northern Iowa and Missouri State to go 10-8 during regular season conference play.
"The excitement was there due to the hard work that the team put in," head coach Justin Ingram said. "They worked really hard to get to where they got, and it showed."
The Salukis clinched a spot at the MVC tournament, where they faced fourth-seeded Missouri State on Nov. 27. This marked the first time the Salukis qualified for the conference tournament in three consecutive years since 1987-1989. Ingram is the first coach in Saluki history to lead a team to the tournament for three straight years. Despite a strong performance against the Bears earlier in the season, SIU fell 3-0 to end the season and tournament run.
Over the course of the season several Salukis stepped up to help the team become more efficient and tougher on its opponents. Pippen put out a dominant performance offensively, hitting with a .410 efficiency to break SIU's record for hitting efficiency in a single season. She led the MVC throughout the season and ranks 12th nationally with her high efficiency.
"Taylor is an incredibly efficient attacker. She's improving right now and I don't think she's done yet," Ingram said. "There's still another level to where she can go and we're excited for her future because it's certainly going to impact the team positively."
Pippen was accompanied by strong underclassmen, particularly sophomore Meg Viggars and freshmen Andrea Estrada, Abby Barrow and Alex Rosignol. Viggars ended the season with three triple-doubles against SEMO, Indiana State and Northern Iowa. As for the freshmen, this year's freshman class totaled 770 kills in the regular season, the third most by a freshman class in Saluki history since being part of the MVC.
"Everybody got a bit more comfortable within what it is that they do well," Ingram said. "At the beginning of the season it's kind of trial by fire and you think you know what the team needs in order to get to where you want to get to, which is a conference championship, but sometimes there needs to be some adjustments and some tweaking in order to mold the system into something that promotes the players strengths."
Senior Alex Rivera led the way for SIU's defense, totaling 478 digs overall. During her final season, Rivera came away with two MVC Defensive Player of the Week recognitions and an MVC Student Athlete of the Week accolade. Overall, Rivera was named MVC Defensive Player of the Week four times in her career.
Rivera wasn't the only Saluki to earn conference recognition this season, though. Prior to the season Pippen and sophomore Hannah Kaminsky were named to the MVC Preseason All-Conference Team. By the end of the season, Pippen was named First Team All-Conference for the second consecutive year, followed by Viggars on Second Team All-Conference and Estrada on the MVC All-Freshman Team. Pippen also earned MVC Scholar Athlete First Team accolades, followed by Kaminsky, Rivera and sophomore McKenzie Dorris who were named to the MVC Scholar Athlete Honorable Mention team.
With the conclusion of this season, the Salukis will lose seniors Alex Rivera and Kat Agson to graduation. The youth of the team, however, promises opportunities for the team to grow and succeed together in future seasons.
"You want to always pick up where you left off," Ingram said. "The fact that we get to do this again for the most part with the same group minus two athletes who are graduating, that raises the bar even higher. We should be better next season and we're going to put a lot of work and a lot of time in to make sure that happens."
