Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Southeast Missouri State University
Volleyball travels to SEMO on Tuesday
09/03/2018 | 5:03:00 | Women's Volleyball
The Salukis have won four-straight over the Redhawks.
All-time series vs. SEMO
Southern holds a 24-11 record over its border rival SEMO dating back to the 1975 season. The Salukis have won four-straight, and eight of their last nine, over the Redhawks, . The Salukis are 10-4 all-time at SEMO and have won three-straight at Houck Field House, with Southern's last loss there coming on Oct. 9, 2007.
All-time vs. the Ohio Valley Conference
Southern is 85-35 (.708) all-time versus current OVC schools, and comes into having won 20 of its last 24 matches against Ohio Valley schools dating back to 2006.
Scouting the Redhawks
The Redhawks opened the 2018 season with five-straight wins, which is the best start in school history in the NCAA Division I era (since 1991). The Redhawks have since lost two-straight with losses to Radford and Northwestern State. SEMO was picked to finish ninth in the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball preseason poll after losing a pair of All-Conference players in Nzingha Clarke and Krissa Gearring.
Six-Straight double-digit kill outputs
Maggie Nedoma has opened the 2018 season with six-straight double digit kill outputs and has 91 kills through six matches. Her 91 kills are the fifth-most in the conference thus far this season while her six-straight matches with double-digit kills to start the season are the most since Andrea Estrada opened the 2015 season with six-straight double-digit kill outputs. With 10-plus kills vs. SEMO, Nedoma will tie Jessica Whitehead's 2011 start in which she tallied seven-straight contests with 10-plus kills.
Familiar Face
SEMO head coach Julie Yankus was an assistant coach at SIU under Brenda Winkeler for five seasons from 2005-10. Since taking over as the head coach of the Redhawks, Yankus has a 1-5 record against her former school. Her lone win came on Sept. 7, 2013, a 3-2 SEMO win at the Kansas State Invitational.
Nedoma named to All-Tournament Team
Maggie Nedoma finished first on the team with 41 kills during SIU's three matches at the Saluki Invitational en route to earning All-Tournament Team recognition. The sophomore from Berea Park, Ohio led the Salukis in kills all three matches and averaged 4.10 kills per set.
Season-High Aces
The Salukis notched nine aces in their 3-0 sweep of Alabama A&M- the most that they have recorded in a three-set match since tallying 10 aces in a 3-0 sweep of Duquesne on Aug. 27, 2016.
Hitting for a high efficiency
As a team, the Salukis hit .389 in the win over the Lady Bulldogs- the best hitting percentage by the Salukis since Oct. 5, 2012 when Southern hit .441 in a win over Evansville.
200-plus kills as a freshman
Maggie Nedoma played in 28 of SIU's 29 matches during her freshman campaign and racked up exactly 200 kills. It marked the first time since 2014, and just the 13th time in program history dating back to 1980, that a Saluki freshman has put down 200-plus kills.
2018 Schedule
In addition to the grind that is the MVC's double round-robin schedule, Southern Illinois will play a challenging non-conference slate in 2018. The Salukis will play nine matches against teams that advanced to postseason play a year ago, including the National Runner-Up Florida Gators.
Lots of New Faces
Southern added 10 newcomers in the offseason, of which eight are freshman and two are transfers. The 20-person roster is the largest for the Salukis in the NCAA-era (since 1982) and their eight freshmen are the third-most in school history. Only the 2003 (11) and 2013 (9) Salukis had more first-years on their opening day rosters. The 2013 Salukis went 20-13 and advanced to the MVC Championship match.
