Saluki Volleyball Takes Down IUPUI in Season Opener

Friday, August 24

Louisville, KY

9:30 a.m.

Southern Illinois University

1-0

IUPUI

0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
IUPUI	18	19	25	22	1
Southern Illinois	25	25	18	25	3

Photo by: Michael Black

08/24/2018 | 1:46:00 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

SIU splits on day one of Cardinal Classic

The Southern Illinois University volleyball team split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Cardinal Classic in Louisville, Ky., defeating IUPUI, 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 18-25, 25-22) behind a strong all-around performance before falling to Louisville, 3-0 (10-25, 19-25, 13-25) in the nightcap.

How it happened - IUPUI

• Southern got out to a 6-1 lead in set one behind three kills from Maggie Nedoma and a kill by Rachel Maguire kept the lead at five, 10-5.
• Five-straight points by the Jaguars tied the frame, 10-10 and the score remained tied at 12-12.
• Southern rattled off three-straight points as Alayna Martin found Patience Brown and Nedoma for kills to give SIU a lead it never relinquished in its 25-18 set one win.
• The Salukis hit .370 in their 25-18 set one win over IUPUI- which was the best that Southern has hit in an opening set since hitting .382 in a set one win over Drake on Oct. 21, 2016.
• The Salukis scored the first three points of the second set and never trailed, leading by as many as eight while hitting at a .275 clip in their 25-19 win.
• The Jaguars turned the tables on the Salukis in set three. IUPUIbroke a 5-5 tie with back-to-back points and led by as many as eight to extend the match to a fourth set.
• Southern would not be denied a victory in its season opener, as the Salukis put down 14 kills and limited IUPUIto a .173 hitting percentage to take the fourth set, 25-22.

How it happened - Louisville

• The Cardinals got out to a quick 7-0 lead in the opening frame and hit .567 to take the set. Southern had a strong attack in the first set, as they hit .280 with eight kills and only one error.
• SIU returned the favor in set two behind a balanced attack. Three Salukis had at least two kills during the first half of the set to build a 14-8 advantage. The Cardinals had the last laugh, as they countered with an 11-2 run to seal a set two win. Errors coupled with a stout Cardinals back row defense that limited SIU to a .-032 hitting percentage gave Louisville a 25-13 set three win and a 3-0 victory.

Inside the matches

• Maggie Nedoma put down 17 kills in the win over IUPUI and led the Salukis with 10 kills against the Cardinals. Her 17 kills in the opener were one shy of her career-best and she has now reached double figures in 10 matches during her young career. The Brook Park, Ohio native also set a career-high with 51 attempts in the opener and is the first Saluki to take 50-plus swings in a match since Andrea Estrada notched 52 attempts in last season's 3-2 win over Drake on Nov. 11, 2017.
• Alayna Martin dished out a career-high 48 assists and added 15 digs for her 12th career double-double in the win over the Jaguars.
• Alison Thomas tallied a career-high 25 digs in her first start as Southern's libero against IUPUI. She added to her total with seven against the Cardinals.
• Rachel Maguire made an impressive debut hitting on the outside for Southern. She finished with a career-high 12 kills to go along with 14 digs and two aces in the win over the Jaguars.
• Patience Brown hit .481 with 14 kills on 27 swings and just one error. It is the ninth time in her two seasons as a Saluki that she has hit over .400. The Bloomington, Ill. native added seven digs and two assists in the win.
• Emma Baalman added six kills on an efficient 18 swings while Laura Rojas notched six digs in the win over the Jaguars.
• Kat Wagner finished with nine kills on 42 swings in her collegiate debut. Her nine kills are the most by a Saluki freshman in a season opener since Taylor Pippen put down nine kills in Southern's 3-1 loss to Eastern Michigan on Aug. 24, 2012. It is tied for the sixth-most kills by a freshman in a season opener in school history while her 42 attempts are a program record for a first-year in a season opener.

Next up

The Salukis take on the UT Martin Skyhawks on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. Live stats are available for the match.