Southern Illinois University
0-1
Western Kentucky University
1-0
Salukis drop pair to open Miami (Ohio) Tournament
08/25/2017 | 9:43:00 | Women's Volleyball
The Southern Illinois volleyball team dropped a pair of matches at the Miami (Ohio) Tournament Friday to open the 2017 season.Â
Western Kentucky, who was picked to three-peat as Conference USA champions in the league's annual preseason poll, swept the Salukis by set scores of 25-16, 25-18, 25-17. In the nightcap, SIU lost a five-set thriller to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks by set scores of 26-24, 25-23, 13-25, 23-25, 13-15.
In the opener, the Hilltoppers won with efficiency, as they posted a .410 hitting percentage for the match behind Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year Alyssa Cavanaugh, who hit at a .560 clip. She posted a match-high 16 kills on 25 attempts. Abby Barrow paced the Saluki attack with nine kills on 22 swings. Alayna Martin tallied 21 assists and four digs while Ashley Edelen added a team-high eight digs.
The Salukis got out to a strong start in their second match of the day against Northern Arizona, as they rallied from a 20-14 deficit to take the opening set, 26-24. After a kill by Kolby Meeks made it 21-16, the Salukis rattled off six-straight points with Edelen serving. Emma Baalman recorded a pair of kills and a block assist during the 6-0 run, and her ace on set point gave Southern a 26-24 set one win.
In set two, a balanced attack in which six different Salukis recorded a kill helped Southern build a 15-8 advantage. The Lumberjacks got to within two, 18-16, but a service ace by Martin and a pair of NAU attack errors grew SIU's lead back to five, 21-16. From there, Southern's seniors took them the rest of the way, as a kill by Barrow got the Salukis to set point and Preseason All-MVC selection Andrea Estrada notched her fourth kill of the set to put NAU away, 25-23.
The Lumberjacks rattled off 12 unanswered points to break a 10-10 tie in set three and forced a fourth frame with a 25-13 victory. NAU's momentum carried over into the fourth set, as they built an early 6-1 lead. Southern came roaring back late, as back-to-back aces by Martin and a kill by Nellie Fredriksson gave SIU a 19-16 advantage. NAU strung together four-straight points to take a lead it never surrendered, as the Lumberjacks forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-23 win.
SIU rattled off four-straight points to open the fifth set, and took its largest lead of the frame at 7-1 on a kill by Fredriksson. The Lumberjacks, however, rallied, as they cut deficit to one, 9-8, and escaped with a 15-13 victory.
Estrada and Fredriksson paced a balanced attack in SIU's second match of the season. Estrada put down 14 kills and added 20 digs for her 46th career double-double while Fredriksson hit .400. The Angelholm, Sweden native notched 13 kills on 30 attempts with just one error. Barrow added 11 kills and a career-best 15 digs for her first career double-double while Edelen recorded a career-high 19 digs in the loss and Martin set career-bests in both assists (44) and aces (5).
The Salukis close out play at the Miami (Ohio) Tournament Saturday against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks. First serve is set for 10:30 a.m. CT.Â
