Saluki Volleyball: 2015 Season in Review
12/15/2015 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Before the 2015 season began, the Saluki volleyball team came together to choose a direction and goal for the upcoming year. With all attackers returning and only two newcomers, the possibilities for success were probable and real. Out of that brainstorming session, with only players in attendance, the team decided on a motto that would guide them through the season: Make History.
The 2015 season was historical to say the least. This year's squad finished with the best season in Saluki Volleyball history, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time and making several other historical and record breaking moves in the process.
"This group wanted to put the time in. They care about each other, they care about the success of the team, they care about representing the university and they care about the group more than they care about themselves as far as production or their own personal successes," head coach Justin Ingram said. "It's a pretty selfless act, a pretty selfless mindset, and that's certainly a big part of what makes this group tick and made it different from years past."
The Salukis' season began with four non-conference tournaments where the Salukis took on top-ranked teams including Dayton, Western Kentucky and Arkansas State, to name a few. SIU went 9-4 to start the season in non-conference play, earning key wins over Central Florida, Dayton, Butler and regional rival SEMO, along with others, to enter conference play with the best season start since head coach Justin Ingram's debut season in 2012.
Despite a shaky start against conference opponents where SIU fell to Northern Iowa and Loyola in the first two weeks, the Salukis rebounded quickly and continued on their way to the best conference season in program history. Coming off a 3-1 loss at home against Loyola, SIU faced the then-first place MVC team, Missouri State, topping the Bears in Davies Gym in a thrilling five-set match. From there, SIU's streak continued as the team won 12 of the next 13 matches.
For the first time since 1995, SIU was able to go undefeated against Wichita State, knocking them off twice this season while the Shockers held the No. 1 spot in the Valley. The first was won at home in five sets, with two of the five going to extra points. The teams' second meeting ended in a three set sweep for SIU.
"There were a lot of impressive moments throughout the course of the season. I don't think there is any one match; there were probably around ten or eleven matches you could pick and say ‘That was impressive,'" Ingram said. "They wanted success, and they believed that whatever group out there could do it and that the system was going to put them in a situation to win."
After closing out the regular season with a loss to Missouri State, the Salukis entered the MVC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, this time with their highest placement as the No. 2 seed. This year marked the first time in SIU history that the Salukis advanced to the MVC Tournament for four straight years. With a bye in the first round, SIU took on Missouri State yet again in the semifinals, falling 3-0 to end the tournament run.
But the season was not yet over for SIU. Ranked No. 40 in the national RPI rankings, SIU earned its first-ever berth to the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid. SIU was one of four MVC teams, including Wichita State, Missouri State and Northern Iowa, to advance to the national tournament. The Salukis took on the No. 29 seed Fighting Illini in Louisville, Ky., in the first round of play, ultimately falling 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 26-24) to conclude the season.
"I think that our steadiness in October and November put us in the position to do things that we haven't done before, and I think a lot of that had to do with us gaining stride and becoming a better, more mature group, understanding the goals that were being created, and striving to obtain those goals," Ingram said. "I think to be a dreamer is one thing, but to have goals that are obtainable and actually get them is impressive."
Throughout the course of the season, the Salukis were challenged with injuries, illness and a rule violation, which resulted in Taylor Pippen, Alex Rosignol, Hannah Kaminsky and Andrea Estrada each missing multiple matches. It was SIU's quick distribution and offense, efficient attack and strong front at the net, however, that helped the Salukis accomplish such a successful run.
Setters Meg Viggars and Hannah Kaminsky put up 781 and 732 assists, respectively, getting the ball to SIU's attacking corps to help the Salukis finish with the second-best attack percentage against Valley opponents at .273. Viggars finished the season with six triple doubles to rank fifth in the country, and Kaminsky also reached a milestone, moving up to sixth all-time at SIU with 2,601 career assists.
The Salukis' block power was a key to success this season as well, as the team ranked eighth in the nation for total blocks with 342.5. Alex Rosignol and Meg Viggars led the Salukis' blocking campaign with 137 and 130 each, ranking fifth and sixth all-time at SIU for block assists in a season. Rosignol finished the season ranked 10th in the country with an average of 1.51 blocks per set. The Salukis finished with the top three spots in the MVC for blocks, led by Rosignol's 1.51 per set and followed by Taylor Pippen with 1.29 and McKenzie Dorris with 1.20 per set.
Redshirt sophomore Andrea Estrada continued to make a name for herself this season, leading the Salukis in total attacks and kills, and tallying 19 kill-dig double-doubles. Taylor Pippen added to the Salukis' offense with a team-high .386 hitting percentage, ranking 32nd in the nation. The two received regional recognition at the conclusion of the season by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Over the course of the season, the Salukis received various accolades. For the first time in program history, three Salukis were named First Team All-MVC: Taylor Pippen, Meg Viggars and Andrea Estrada. Three were also recognized as MVC Scholar Athletes, with Pippen earning First Team and Estrada and sophomore Abby Barrow earning Honorable Mention. SIU earned MVC Weekly honors three times over the course of the season, with Estrada earning Player of the Week and Viggars and Pippen each earning Defensive Player of the Week. Justin Ingram was also honored this season as the MVC Coach of the Year.
"There are a ton of examples where somebody new was stepping up, and that's what really makes this team solid," Ingram said. "We weren't always banking on one person producing. It was more about understanding who it was going to be that day and rallying behind that person."
In her final season, SIU's lone senior Taylor Pippen went out on top, moving up in SIU's all-time record book and earned various awards. This season Pippen was a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, earned the State Farm MVC Good Neighbor Award, earned First Team All-Conference and First Team Scholar-Athlete recognition both for the third straight time, received CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, earned weekly MVC accolades twice and was named AVCA First Team All-Region.
Throughout her career Pippen has secured several spots in SIU's record books, holding all-time records for career attack percentage at .345 and the all-time record for block assists with 426. She also holds top two spots in SIU Volleyball history for attack percentage in a single season at .410 in 2014 and .386 this season. Pippen is tied for fifth all-time for career matches played with 121 and ranks third all-time for career sets played with 452.
Pippen will be the only senior to graduate from the team, opening the possibility for another strong season next year with the majority of the team returning.
"This season was awesome," Ingram said. "The difficulty now is repeating the same kind of schedule, which requires some skills and some luck and us playing well again. Things lined up for us pretty well this year, so we're hopeful that we can put ourselves in a situation to have similar or better experience in years to come."
