Salukis suffer 3-0 setback to Bulldogs

Saturday, October 13

Carbondale, IL

7 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

4-17, 0-8MVC

Drake University

16-7, 5-4MVC

Drake University

Southern Illinois

10/13/2018 | 10:15:00 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Southern Illinois University volleyball team suffered a 3-0 setback at the hands of Missouri Valley Conference foe Drake University. The Bulldogs defeated the Salukis by the set scores of 24-14, 25-23 and 25-19. Southern's Keera Clarke set a new career-best with 18 digs while Patience Brown hit .500 with 11 kills to pace the Salukis.

How It Happened

• The Bulldogs claimed the first three points of the opening set but led by just two after a kill by Emma Baalman cut SIU's deficit to two, 9-7. Drake scored six of the next seven points to take the lead for good. The Bulldogs used a 7-1 run mid-set, which extended a two-point lead to eight, and pushed their advantage to the final margin to close the frame.
• The Bulldogs opened up a four point lead, 9-5 before Southern scored four the next five to get to within two, 11-9. After a sideout point by Drake, Southern used a 6-1 run, punctuated by back-to-back kills by Patience Brown, to take its first lead of the match, 16-13. After another kill by Brown again gave SIU a three-point advantage, 17-14, Drake scored four-straight points to take a lead it never surrendered.
• Brown hit .444 in set two with five kills. Including Lindsey Paulsen, Southern's middles hit .500 in the frame.
• The Salukis scored first in the third frame but the Bulldogs built an eight-point lead at the midway point, 15-7, and held on despite a late rally by the Salukis with Rachel Maguire at the service line. Maguire served six-straight points on Drake's set point to get to within five, 24-19, before a sideout kill by Elle Tubbs ended the set and the match.
• Drake's win snapped a seven-match home winning streak for the Salukis against the Bulldogs with Southern's last loss to Drake in Davies coming during the 2010 season prior to tonight's setback.

Inside the Match

• Keera Clarke made her third-straight start at libero and finished with a career-high 18 digs. It marked the third-straight match in which the Santa Monica, Calif. native has dug out 10-plus balls.
• Maggie Nedoma's streak of three-straight matches in which she reached double figures in kills came to an end, as she tallied six kills. The sophomore opposite hitter made up for it with her defense though, as she set a career-best with 12 digs.
• Patience Brown hit at a .500 clip with 11 kills and just one error on 20 swings. It is the fifth time in her Saluki career that Brown has hit at or above .500, and the senior middle hitter hit an efficient .485 with 17 kills on the weekend.
• Fellow middle hitter Lindsey Paulsen hit at a .571 clip, as she put down four kills on seven swings without recording an error. She also set a career-high with five blocks.
• Alayna Martin notched her ninth double-double of the season with 22 assists and 10 digs.

Up Next

The Salukis are back on the road next weekend. Southern is at Illinois State on Friday, Oct. 19 (7 p.m.) and at Bradley University on Saturday, Oct. 20 (7 p.m.)