Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Salukis head to Evansville to take on the Purple Aces
10/09/2015 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
| SIU at Evansville | |
| Dates | Sat., October 10, 2015 // SIU at Evansville, 6 p.m. |
| Location | Evansville, Ind. - Carson Center (500) |
| Live Stats | SIU at Evansville Live Stats |
| Match Notes | Southern Illinois | Evansville |
| Season Stats | Southern Illinois | Evansville |
| Media Guide | SIU Media Guide |
| Social Media | @SIU_Volleyball  | Saluki Volleyball  |
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
EVANSVILLE, Ind. ¬– After a huge 3-2 victory over Missouri State to close out a three-match home stand last week, SIU hits the road again this weekend to take on Evansville on Saturday night.
Scouting Evansville
The Purple Aces, ranked ninth in the MVC, head into this weekend with a 7-12 record overall, 1-4 in conference play. Despite the team ranking near the bottom in many statistical categories in the MVC, Evansville's Genesis Miranda ranks among the top in the Valley in kills and service aces with 4.16 kills and 0.37 aces per set, both in second place. She also tops the charts for points in the Valley, averaging 4.93 per set. Kim Deprez leads the Aces' defense, ranking first in the MVC with 5.26 digs per set.
Series History
The Salukis are undefeated against Evansville under head coach Justin Ingram. The last time SIU fell to Evansville was in 2011. In the last three years, half of the Salukis' victories over the Aces have been 3-0 shutouts. Overall, SIU leads the series over Evansville, 39-11.
SIU's National Rankings
In the first RPI rankings of the season, SIU ranks No. 66 in the nation. Among teams in the MVC, the Salukis have the third highest ranking behind Missouri State at No. 22 and Wichita State at No. 64. Statistically, SIU ranks in the top 25 in the NCAA in five categories: sixth in blocks with 180.5, ninth in kills with 976, 12th in assists with 899, 22nd in attacks with 2,557 and 24th in digs with 1,111.
Major Comeback
After missing six matches due to a sore shoulder, Taylor Pippen came back last Friday to finish with her best match of the season, coming away with zero errors and 14 kills on 21 attempts for a .667 efficiency. She also added eight blocks, including one solo to help the Salukis top Bradley, 3-1. In her first weekend back on the court, including wins over Bradley and Missouri State and a loss to Loyola, Pippen totaled 31 kills and only four errors on 59 attempts for a .458 efficiency, along with 17 blocks, including two solo. Overall, Pippen totals 135 kills and 49 blocks on the season, with an average of 2.70 kills and 0.98 blocks per set.
Go Forth and Play
In SIU's exciting 3-2 win over Missouri State, junior Meg Viggars secured her fourth triple-double of the season, playing a role in nearly all statistical categories. She finished the game with 12 kills and zero errors on 23 attempts for a .522 efficiency, her highest of the season. She also added 26 assists, 10 digs and three service aces. This marks the seventh triple-double in Viggars' career and ranks her second in the nation for triple-doubles this season, behind Western Carolina's Jo-Leigh Vervelde with six. This season, Viggars averages 2.09 kills, 5.28 assists, 2.41 digs and 1.01 blocks per set.
Leader of the Attack
Redshirt sophomore Andrea Estrada has led the Salukis in kills and attempts in over 60 percent of matches this season. Overall she leads SIU with 246 kills on 660 attempts. She currently averages 3.32 kills per set, ranking fourth in the MVC, and is hitting at a .224 clip. Estrada's offensive power has produced positive results for the Salukis, with 246 points coming off her kills and a total of 276 points overall for an average of 3.73 per set, sixth in the Valley.
Downed by Dorris
Last year McKenzie Dorris led the MVC in blocks with 1.10 blocks per set. This year, the junior has continued downing balls at the net, tallying 44 blocks, including four solo, for an average of 0.96 blocks per set. Last Monday, Dorris helped the Salukis to a 3-2 victory over top-ranked Missouri State with a career high nine blocks. With Taylor Pippen and Alex Rosignol each missing matches due to injuries, Dorris has increasingly been called upon, and has helped SIU move to sixth in the nation and second in the Valley for total team blocks.
No. 7 All-Time at SIU
Junior Hannah Kaminsky's contributions to the team are often out of the spotlight, but the former MVC Freshman of the Year (2013) has made a significant impact not only on this year's team, but on Saluki Volleyball history. Kaminsky leads the Salukis in assists and service aces, with 441 and 17, respectively. Her 441 assists this season bump her up to 2,310 career assists, ranking seventh all-time in Saluki Volleyball history.
Knocking Off the Top
After a tough 3-1 loss to Loyola, the Salukis rallied back to top Missouri State, the top team in the MVC and ranked No. 22 in RPI. The Salukis dropped Set 1, but came back to take an unprecedented lead, 25-9, in the second. The third and fourth sets were split, forcing a fifth, resulting in a 15-8 SIU win. SIU was the first team to beat the Bears who started out undefeated in conference play.
Bring It On Barrow
Last weekend over the course of three matches against Bradley, Loyola and Missouri State, sophomore Abby Barrow was a major contributor to SIU's offense, finishing with the second-most kills and attempts. She totaled 35 kills on 83 attempts for an average of 2.69 kills per set and a .229 attack efficiency. Overall, Barrow ranks second for the Salukis' offense with 105 kills on 559 attacks for 2.09 kills per set after playing in every set for SIU this season.
Block Party
The Salukis' blocking power has shut down opponents all season, with a total of 180.5 blocks compared to 122 by opponents. SIU ranks sixth in the nation for total blocks, and first in the MVC with 2.44 blocks per set. Both Alex Rosignol and Meg Viggars rank in the top-5 for blocks per set in the Valley, coming in at 1st with 1.42 and 5th with 1.01 blocks per set, respectively.
