Volleyball readies for road tests at Northern Iowa, Drake

Friday, October 13

Cedar Falls, IA

7 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

University of Northern Iowa

Photo by: Sean Carley

10/12/2017 | 2:25:00 | Women's Volleyball

Salukis take on Northern Iowa on Friday before tangling with Drake on Saturday.

By: Will Becque, SIUSalukis.com

Southern Illinois (4-13, 3-3 MVC) vs. Drake (17-3, 6-0 MVC), Northern Iowa (16-4, 6-0 MVC)
Date & Time	Oct. 13-14, 2017 \| 7 p.m. CT
Locations	Cedar Falls, Iowa \| McLeod Center Des Moines, Iowa \| Knapp Center
Tickets	at UNI at Drake
Video Stream	at UNI: ESPN3 at Drake: ESPN3
Live Stats	at UNI: Live Stats at Drake: Live Stats
Southern Illinois	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
Drake	Game Notes \| Stats
Northern Iowa	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
MVC	Weekly Notes \| Stats
All-Time Series	Overall: UNI leads SIU, 53-13 \| Streak: UNI 1 \| Last Meeting: UNI 3-1 (14-25, 15-25, 25-20, 16-25) Overall: SIU leads Drake, 42-19 \| Streak: SIU W10 \| Last Meeting: SIU 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 25-27, 25-23)
Social Media	@SIU_Volleyball \| @SIUSalukis \| Saluki Volleyball

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois volleyball team will travel to the state of Iowa over the weekend to take on Northern Iowa and Drake. The Salukis take on the Northern Iowa Panthers on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m., before traveling to Des Moines to face the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN3.

All-time vs. UNI
The Panthers hold a commanding 53-13 lead over the Salukis in an all-time series that dates back to 1982. Northern Iowa won the most recent meeting between the two schools, a 3-1 win at the McLeod Center on Oct. 22, 2016. Prior to that meeting, SIU had won back-to-back matches against the Panthers, with both wins coming at Davies Gym. Northern Iowa is 27-3 all-time against the Salukis on its home floor, with Southern's first-ever win at the McLeod Center coming on Nov. 8, 2013. It was SIU's first victory at Northern Iowa since 1985, and capped off Southern's first-ever season sweep of the Panthers.

Scouting the Panthers
UNI moved up to No. 20 in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll (Oct. 9) following sweeps over Indiana State and Evansville last week. The Panthers have won six-straight to open Valley play and are ranked in the top-10 nationally in seven statistical categories, including assists per set (6th, 13.76/set), digs per set (5th, 18.38/set), kills per set (4th, 14.86/set), team assists (4th, 1,046), team attacks per set (8th, 39.30), team digs (6th, 1,397), and team kills (4th, 1,129). Setter Heather Hook ranks sixth in the nation in total assists (858) and leads the conference with an 11.29 assists per set average. The Panthers already have three hitters with at least 250 kills this season, led by Karlie Taylor with 295 kills.

All-time vs. Drake
The Salukis have won 10-straight over the Drake Bulldogs and hold a 42-19 advantage in the all-time series. During their 10-match win streak over Drake, the Salukis have only dropped five total sets. Southern's last five-set match against Drake was its last loss in the series, a 3-2 thriller in Des Moines, Iowa on Nov. 22, 2011. The Salukis have rattled off five-straight wins at Drake since that loss, but the Bulldogs have typically faired better at home in the series, as they are 11-19 in home games against SIU.

Scouting the Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have won 10-straight matches, the fifth-longest streak in the NCAA, coming into their weekend series. Drake is one of three teams in the conference to start 6-0 in Valley play. Drake ranks second in the league in opponent's hitting percentage, as they are holding opponents to a .165% and are third in the league with a .210 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs defense ranks seventh in the nation in digs per set (18.21) and total digs (1,384). Kylee Macke is the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Week and ranks fifth in the league with a 4.86 digs per set average.

Playing her best against the best
Andrea Estrada filled up the stat sheet against first-place Missouri State, as she hit .269 with 10 kills, 13 digs and two assists. The two-time All-MVC selection has totaled 111 kills (3.47 kills/set) and 94 digs (2.93 digs/set) in eight career matches against Missouri State, and has now recorded double-doubles in seven-straight matches versus the Lady Bears.

50th Career Double-Double
Andrea Estrada's double-double against the Lady Bears was the 50th of her career. She is one of five Salukis in program history to record 50-plus double-doubles in a career, joining Kristie Kemner (60), Jen Berwanger (58), Meg Viggars (54), and Marlo Moreland (53).

Four Kills from 6th
Estrada needs four kills this weekend to pass Pat Nicholson (1983-86) for sixth on SIU's all-time kills list. The Bogota, Colombia native sits at 1,261 career kills.

Middles Leading the Way
SIU's middles continue to convert attempts with great efficiency. Kolby Meeks and Patience Brown combined to hit .360 and totaled 12 kills and four blocks against first-place Missouri State on Saturday. Brown hit a team-best .500 with nine kills on 16 swings while Meeks added three kills and three blocks. Meeks continues to lead the MVC in hitting percentage at .352 and Brown ranks fifth in the league with a .326 hitting percentage. Southern is the only program in the Valley to have two hitters ranked in the top-five in the MVC in hitting percentage.

Active Career Leaders
Andrea Estrada's 1,261 career kills are the seventh-most in program history, and the 30th-most amongst active DI student-athletes. Her 1,238 career digs, meanwhile, rank her fifth in school history and are the 68th most amongst active players. Abby Barrow needs 39 kills to become the 15th Saluki to reach 1,000 career kills and her 961 kills rank are the 108th-most in NCAA DI.

10-plus digs in 10-straight matches
Libero Ashley Edelen tallied 13 digs against Missouri State on Oct. 7, which marked the 10th-straight match, and 15th time in 17 matches this season, in which she has notched at least 10 digs.

Second Ball Passer
Edelen has tallied 39 assists this season through 17 matches from her libero position, often times having to pass the second ball when opponents hit at Southern's back row setter. Coming into this season, Edelen had recorded just 24 assists in three seasons, and with five more assists this season, will double that figure.

Coming on strong
Alayna Martin dished out 11 assists and added 11 digs against Missouri State for her fifth career double-double. She has recorded a double-double in three of her last four matches, and four of her last six.

100th Kill of the season
Nellie Fredriksson recorded her 100th kill of the 2017 season against Missouri State on Oct. 7. It marks the fourth-straight season she has eclipsed 100 kills and now has 639 kills for her career.

Even Distribution
Six Salukis have reached and exceeded 100 kills for the 2017 season. Estrada leads the way with 150, and is followed by Maggie Nedoma (133), Kolby Meeks (125), Abby Barrow (107), Patience Brown (102) and Fredriksson (100).

Leading the way
The Salukis are 3-0 this season when Patience Brown records 10-plus kills. Brown recorded 14 in SIU's 3-1 win over Bradley on Sept. 22, and again put down 14 in Southern's 3-1 victory over Valpo on Sept. 25. She followed with 12 kills in SIU's five-set win over Evansville on Sept. 29.