Saluki Volleyball heads to Kalamazoo for Western Michigan Invitational

The Saluki volleyball team will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. to take part in the Western Michigan Invitational beginning Friday, Sept. 8. The Salukis will face Oakland University on Friday, before taking on Western Michigan on Saturday at 7 p.m.

• Live statistics are available for both match and can be found here. Fans can watch SIU's match against Western Michigan here.

All-time vs. Western Michigan
Southern is 2-3 all-time against the Broncos in a series that dates back to 1980. The Salukis won the most recent meeting between the two programs, as Southern swept Western Michigan, 25-19, 25-19, 25-20 a year ago. Prior to that, it had been 29 years since the last time the two squads had met.

All-time vs. Oakland
SIU and Oakland (Mich.) have met just once previously. The Salukis defeated the Golden Grizzlies in straight-sets (26-24, 25-12, 25-22) on Aug. 30, 2008.

Block Party
The Salukis recorded a season-high 13.0 blocks at Murray State on Tuesday. It marked the 70th time in the last six years that Southern has tallied at least 10 blocks, and SIU boasts an .800 winning percentage (56-14) when stuffing 10 or more of its oppositions' attempts.

100th Career Match
Andrea Estrada and Nellie Fredriksson each played in their 100th career match against Murray State. If they are both able to play in every match up until SIU's Nov. 4 match at Missouri State, they would crack the top-10 in school history by playing in their 120th career match.

Up to 7th
Andrea Estrada tallied 13 kills in Southern's five-set loss at Murray State, giving her the seventh-most career kills in program history at 1,169. She's got a ways to go to move into sixth, as she needs 96 kills to pass Pat Nicholson (1983-86). She currently ranks 22nd amongst active NCAA Division I student-athletes for career kills.

20 digs away from 5th
Estrada is also just 20 digs shy of passing Debbie Barr (1996-99) for fifth on SIU's all-time digs list. With six digs over the weekend, the Bogota, Colombia native can become just the sixth Saluki to reach 1,100 career digs.

Playing her Part
Ashley Edelen set a career-best with 24 digs against Murray State on Tuesday. The Louisville, Ky. product has been SIU's libero in all five matches this season and has shown her ability to make the second pass when Southern finds itself out of system, as she has recorded at least three assists in four-straight matches, including a career-high seven assists vs. Arkansas State.

Just Missed Out
Alayna Martin just missed out on her second career assists/digs double-double against Murray State, as she finished with 26 assists and nine digs.

117 away
Abby Barrow needs 117 kills during the remainder of her senior season to become the 15th Saluki to amass 1,000 career kills. She has the seventh-most kills of any current player in the Valley.

Getting More Involved
Freshman setter Rachel Maguire continues to get more involved in the Saluki offense during her young career, as she recorded a season-best 18 assists and added six digs against Murray State on Tuesday. It marks the third-straight match in which Maguire has recorded double-digit assists.

Helping out
Alysa Sutton, who transferred to SIU from Eastern Michigan, had her most productive match as a Saluki against Murray State, as she recorded season-bests in digs (16), aces (2) and attempts (18). It marked the fourth time in her career that she has tallied multiple aces in the same match.

Saluki Debut
Patience Brown, who transferred to SIU from Akron, made her Saluki debut at Murray State. The Bloomington, Ill. native tallied six kills on 15 swings and made her presence felt at the net, as she recorded six block assists to help Southern notch a season-best 13 blocks.

No Errors
Nellie Fredriksson hit .261 against Murray State, as she put down six kills on 23 attempts without recording a hitting error. It was just the second-time in her 100 career matches that the Angelholm, Sweden native has recorded at least 20 attempts without making an error. She previously did so against SEMO on Sept. 15, 2015, when she tallied 12 kills on 26 swings without an error.

Playing above her years
Freshman Maggie Nedoma recorded her second-straight 10-plus kill effort in her fourth career match at Murray State. The Brook Park, Ohio native finished with 10 kills on 29 attempts. She also added a team-best 3.5 blocks.

Ranked in the Valley
Kolby Meeks currently ranks fifth in the Valley with a .321 hitting percentage. Last season, the Norcross, Ga. native finished fourth in the conference, and 35th in the nation in the category.

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