Southern Illinois University
Western Kentucky University
Volleyball opens season at Miami (Ohio) Tournament
08/24/2017 | 1:39:00 | Women's Volleyball
All four teams competing at the season opening tournament won at least 21 matches last season.
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois University volleyball team will open the 2017 season in Miami, Ohio for the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational. The Salukis will take on Western Kentucky Friday at 11:30 p.m. ET, before facing Northern Arizona (5 p.m. ET) and concluding with Miami-Ohio (11:30 a.m.) on Saturday. All four teams won at least 21 matches a year ago.
Western Kentucky is coming off their 15th-straight 25-win season in 2016, a season in which the Hilltoppers won the Conference USA Tournament title for the third-straight year. In doing so, the program earned it's 10th NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. Head coach Travis Hudson enters his 23rd season at the helm of the Hilltoppers, who were recently picked to repeat in the annual Conference USA preseason poll. WKU continues to garner national praise, having already received votes for inclusion in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 poll. Senior outside hitter Alyssa Cavanaugh was tabbed as the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year, while teammates Jessica Lucas and Rachel Anderson earned spots on the Preseason All-Conference team.
Northern Arizona features six returning letterwinners who contributed significantly to last year's team that went 24-8, including a 12-4 record in Big Sky play. The Salukis lost 3-1 to the Lumberjacks on their home floor last season as NAU's Lauren Jacobsen put down 29 of NAU's 62 kills (46.7%) and hit at a .432 clip (29-2-62). Jacobsen has since graduated, but the Lumberjacks do return a pair of All-Big Sky middles in Brittini Dorsey and Abby Akin. Akin was voted the Big Sky's most outstanding freshman last season.
Miami, the defending Mid-American Conference regular season champions, received 11 out of the 12 first-place votes to once again top the East Division in the 2017 MAC Preseason Poll. The RedHawks return 13 letterwinners from a squad that went 24-7 last season, tied for their first MAC regular season title since 1998 and earned the program's first at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament since 2008. Seniors Katie Tomasi and Maeve McDonald were both selected to the Preseason All-East Division Team, while head coach Carolyn Condit returns for her 34th season at the helm of the RedHawks.
Season Openers
The Salukis are 26-17 all-time in season openers and have won two-straight season openers after last year's victory over Central Michigan at the IUPUI Invitational.Â
Non-Conference Record
SIU concluded the non-conference portion of its 2016 schedule with a 9-5 (.642) record, matching its non-conference record from 2015. It marks the ninth time in the past 11 seasons that the Salukis have posted a winning record during non-conference play. Southern is 38-23 (.623) in non-conference play since 2012.
All-time vs. Opponents
SIU will open against Western Kentucky, with Friday's matchup marking the fourth time that the two programs have met. The Hilltoppers come in riding a two-match win streak against the Salukis and hold a slight 2-1 edge in the all-time series. Southern's last win over WKU came on Sept. 7, 2001 in a five-set thriller at the Saluki Invitational.
The Salukis will then take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Friday in what will be the third meeting between the two schools. The two sides have split the previous two meetings, as the Salukis won the first-ever meeting, 3-1 on Sept. 26, 1980 while the Lumberjacks evened up the series with the aforementioned 3-1 win at last year's Saluki Invitational.
Southern will close out the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational against the hosts on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET in what will mark the sixth meeting between the two programs. SIU holds a 4-1 lead in the all-time series, as Southern won four-straight over the RedHawks from 1978-91, which included SIU's last appearance at the Miami-Ohio Tournament in 1991. Miami won the most recent meeting between the two programs, a four-set win on Sept. 7, 1996.
Last Season
The Salukis are coming off a 21-12 season, which included a 12-6 mark in MVC play. Under the direction of first-year head coach Kari Thompson, Southern returns nine letterwinners from 2016, including three starters.
Estrada Preseason All-MVC
Senior outside hitter Andrea Estrada was one of seven named to the preseason All-MVC team. A two-time All-MVC selection, Estrada led the Salukis in both kills and service aces a year ago and finished top-15 in the league in service aces, kills and digs. She tallied 16 double-doubles during the 2016 campaign and recorded double-digit kills in 20 of SIU's 33 matches.
Estrada's Ascent Up the Ranks
- If Andrea Estrada is able to play in 24 matches this season, she will crack the top-10 in school history for matches played. She's averaged 31 matches played per season during her three years as a Saluki and has only missed two matches during her career.
- She needs nine kills to pass Taylor Pippen for 11th on SIU's all-time list and with 264 kills this season she will move into the top-five in school history. She has averaged 370 kills per season during her career.
- She needs 30 digs to pass Mary Maxwell for sixth all-time and is 66 digs shy of passing Debbie Barr for fifth all-time.
- With four service aces she can become the 15th Saluki to reach 100 for her career.
- 16 double-doubles shy of breaking the school record of 60 career double-doubles, set by Kristie Kemner.
Milestone Watch
Abby Barrow needs just 146 kills this season to become the 15th Saluki to reach 1,000 career kills. She has averaged nearly 285 kills per season during her collegiate career.
