Salukis split on final day of Western Kentucky Invitational

Saturday, September 10

Bowling Green, Ky.

11:00 AM

Southern Illinois University

6-3

Michigan State

7-1

Team	1	2	3	Final F
MSU	25	25	25	3
Southern Illinois	21	22	21	0

09/10/2016 | 7:23:00 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Meeks earns All-Tournament honors.

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

The Southern Illinois volleyball team earned a split on Saturday by defeating Cincinnati, 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 16-25, 22-25, 15-12) in its final match of the Western Kentucky Invitational.

After a hard-fought 3-0 loss (25-21, 25-22, 25-21) at the hands of Michigan State (7-1), the first team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches' poll and a NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, in the opening match of the day, the Salukis rebounded with a 3-2 win (25-19, 25-22, 16-25, 22-25, 15-12) over Cincinnati (4-5), the program's first win over the Bearcats since 1978.

"We entered into the weekend knowing that we were taking on two ranked opponents (Western Kentucky, Michigan State) and Cincinnati, who beat Wichita State in four sets earlier this season," fifth-year head coach Justin Ingram said. "There were good things that happened throughout the final two matches and we feel fortunate to have beaten a good Cincinnati team."

The Salukis used a balanced attack in the win over Cincinnati, registering 59 kills as a team, with five different players with nine kills or more, and collected 11 total blocks against the Bearcats' seven team blocks. SIU finished with a .250 hitting percentage that included hitting .529 in the fifth frame.

Redshirt junior Andrea Estrada notched her fourth double-double of the season as she had 13 kills and 19 digs. Junior Alex Rosignol posted 12 kills while hitting at a .545 clip and fellow middle, junior transfer Kolby Meeks, finished with 10 kills while hitting .350. Adding to the offensive attack was senior Shannon Hagen and junior Abby Barrow, who chipped in nine kills apiece.

Senior Meg Viggars paced SIU with 29 assists and also collected five block assists. Fellow classmate Hannah Kaminsky recorded 25 assists and added seven digs. Defensively, starting libero Mariana Pilon tallied 11 digs to make it eight-straight match with double-figure digs. Staying on the defensive side, junior Ashley Edelen chipped in five digs, while Rosignol totaled eight block assists.

For her efforts, Meeks was named to the All-Tournament team. The Norcross, Ga. native tallied 25 kills (2.08 per set) and nine total blocks (.75 per set) while hitting at a .352 clip.

"(Meeks) was effective both attacking and blocking for us," said Ingram. "She is improving each match she plays."

In the opener against the Spartans, the Salukis limited the potent Spartan attack to .113, including a first set in which SIU held Michigan State to a .000 hitting percentage.

"To hold Michigan State to that low of an efficiency was a testament to our service and defense," said Ingram.

The Salukis battled throughout the contest, and held late leads in sets two and three. SIU was undone by its own inefficiency, as it hit .000 for the match, and sided out well below its 63% average at 44%.

A Spartan error tied set one, 11-11. Four-straight errors by the Salukis gave MSU a lead it never surrendered.

Set two played out similarly, as SIU staked itself to an early 6-2 lead behind a kill by Ginger Perinar. A kill by Rosignol gave the Salukis a 9-5 lead and SIU increased its advantage to 16-10 on a kill by Viggars. MSU continued to chip away at the lead, cutting SIU's lead down to one (18-17) on a kill by Autumn Bailey. A side out point by the Salukis pushed their lead back to two, but the Spartans rattled off four-straight points to take a commanding lead.

SIU again built an early lead in the third frame, going ahead 14-10 on a kill by Estrada. Michigan State again responded with four-straight points, but an ace by Estrada staked SIU to an 18-16 advantage. Another four-point run gave the Spartans a 20-18 lead that proved insurmountable.

Estrada led the way with seven kills, while Meeks tallied six. Viggars and Kaminsky dished out 14 and 13 assists, respectively, while Pilon finished with a team-best 13 digs.

The Salukis return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 13 when they travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. to take on the SEMO Redhawks. First serve is set for 6 p.m.