Salukis storm back to down Missouri State

Monday, September 26

Springfield, Mo.

7:00 PM

Southern Illinois University

12-5, 3-0MVC

Missouri State

9-7, 0-2MVC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Southern Illinois	13	25	23	25	15	3
Missouri State	25	16	25	19	13	2

Photo by: Madison Case

09/26/2016 | 10:44:00 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

SIU prevails in five sets behind 20 kills from Estrada, Barrow

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

The Southern Illinois volleyball team came back from an early deficit to defeat Missouri State, 3-2, at Hammons Student Center on Monday night. (13-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-19, 15-13)

The Salukis, now 12-5 and 3-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference for the first time since 1995, overcame a slow start in which they lost the first set, 25-13.

"We were flat," fifth-year head coach Justin Ingram said. "We weren't prepared. And we were doing things that weren't going to help us win."

The Salukis went to the drawing board, as Ingram and his staff decided to switch to a 5-1 in set two, with five hitters and one setter, rather than the 6-2 (six hitters and two setters) that the Salukis customarily run.

"I felt the most positive thing was to create big change," Ingram said. "Not within the lineup but within how we were doing it."

The Salukis responded, winning set two in convincing fashion, 25-16 to even the score, 1-1. The third set was a back-and-forth affair won by the Bears, but the Salukis quickly snatched back momentum, winning set four to force a decisive fifth frame. SIU controlled the fifth, with a double block by Meeks and Viggars on match point giving SIU a hard-fought, 3-2 victory.

Match Point.

The #Salukis are 3-0 in The Valley. pic.twitter.com/4ZTUYOwGAI
— Saluki Athletics (@SIUSalukis) September 27, 2016

"I thought the girls did a great job of being able to go with the flow of change and continually got better as the match progressed," Ingram said.

The Salukis were led by their outside hitters, Andrea Estrada and Abby Barrow.

Estrada hit .415 with a season-high 20 kills to go along with 11 digs and two aces, while Barrow tallied 20 kills, doing so for the second time in three matches. Kolby Meeks added six kills on just 14 swings to go along with six block assists, while Alex Rosignol finished with seven blocks, including one solo stuff.

The Bears were led by returning MVC Player of the Year Lily Johnson, who tallied 25 kills on 75 attempts.

The match started off slowly for the Salukis, as the first set was all Bears. Missouri State hit .609 and Johnson put down seven kills en route to a set one win, 25-13.

The Salukis got back on track in set two, with a kill by Nellie Fredriksson getting SIU on the scoreboard, 1-1. Estrada's fifth kill gave SIU its first lead of the match, and a Bear attack error made it 3-1. A tip by Viggars put SIU ahead 7-4, and Southern grew its advantage to four (8-4) on a double block by Meeks and Viggars. The Salukis led by as many as seven in the frame, as a double block by Rosignol and Barrow made it 12-5. The Bears cut the deficit down to three (17-14), but SIU quickly pushed its advantage back to seven, 23-16, on a Missouri State service error, before taking the set, 25-16.

The third set started in similar fashion, with an Estrada kill opening the scoring for the Salukis. Southern went ahead 5-1 in the early going, but it was the Bears who responded, tying the set, 10-10 on a kill by Johnson. After the Bears took their first lead of the frame, 11-10, Rosignol's solo block tied the contest once again. An ace by Rosignol pushed SIU's margin back to two, 14-12, but the Bears sided out, and Johnson served her squad to a 17-14 lead. The Salukis tied the contest, 23-23, but the Bears scored the final two points to take the set, 25-23.

The fourth set was the Abby Barrow show, as the junior put down eight kills in the set without committing an error. Missouri State took an early four-point advantage, 9-5, before Hannah Kaminsky stepped to the service line to get the Salukis to within one, 9-8. A 6-0 run with Estrada serving gave Southern its largest lead of the set, 16-10, and the Salukis never looked back, winning, 25-19.

In the decisive fifth set, the Salukis went back to Estrada, who opened with a kill, and Meeks and Viggars followed with a big double block. The Bears countered with three-straight points to take their first lead of the set, but back-to-back points off the hand of Estrada gave Southern the lead right back. The Salukis grew their advantage to three, 8-5, on Barrow's 20^th kill of the match. The Bears cut the lead down to two, but the Salukis closed out the set and the match with a double block by Meeks and Viggars to seal the win.

The Salukis are back in action Friday, Sept. 30 at Bradley University, before traveling to Chicago, Ill., to take on the Loyola Ramblers on Saturday, Oct. 1. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.