Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
10-8
Drake University
7-11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 19 | 20 | 25 | 18 | 1 |
| Southern Ill. | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 3 |
Salukis earn 3-1 win over Drake
10/04/2019 | 9:40:00 | Women's Volleyball
SIU has now won four of its last five matches.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University volleyball team topped Drake, 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18) on Friday night in Missouri Valley Conference play inside Davies Gym.
The Salukis (10-7, 2-1 MVC) played one of their most complete matches of the year, as they tied a season-best with 10 blocks, tallied their most aces (12) in a conference match in the 25-point, rally scoring era (since 2007) and notched their most digs (85) in a four-set match this season.
"As much as anything, I am pleased with the competitive attitude we took towards almost every facet of our play," first-year head coach Ed Allen said.
Southern set the tone in the opening frame, as it never trailed and scored four of the first five points. SIU's lead grew to 11, 21-10, on back-to-back aces by Katy Kluge before a late run by the Bulldogs closed the gap to five (24-19). A sideout kill by Emma Baalman gave Southern a 25-19 set one win.
"I thought we played the first set as well as we have played any set all season long," Allen said. "From start to finish, we had consistently for all 25 points. I was really impressed with the intensity that we played with."
Southern trailed just once in their 25-20 set two win before Drake rallied with a 25-22 win in set three to force a fourth frame. In the fourth set, the Salukis trailed by four, 13-9, but rattled off five-straight points with Alayna Martin at the service line to take back the lead back for good.
Hannah Becker had yet another career night, as the redshirt sophomore hit at a .354 clip and put down a career-high 19 kills with just two errors to go along with a career-best six digs.
"I thought it was an incredible match for Hannah," Allen said. "She was sick and missed a practice earlier this week and she went through a practice yesterday where she was less than whole. She found a way to do exactly what needed to be done, was highly aggressive and was intelligent with what she did with the ball."
Savannah Sheridan added 12 kills while Rachel Maguire notched her NCAA-leading ninth triple-double of the season with 10 kills, 18 assists and 12 digs.
Lindsey Paulsen led Southern's blockers, as she tallied eight blocks, including two solo stuffs. Maguire chipped in five blocks while Alayna Martin added three.
"Our blocking is getting better," Allen said. "We are recognizing situations and positioning ourselves better. We need to be patient with balls that are off the net so that we are not in the air and blocking balls on the way down. That was where Drake tooled us a couple of times. I think our blocking is getting better and it is certainly helping our defense a lot."
Southern had five players serve at least one ace and four with multiple aces. Katy Kluge tied her career-high with four aces and added 12 digs while Abi Fitzpatrick tied her career-best with three aces to go along with 11 digs. Emma Baalman served up a pair of aces, as did Martin, who also added four kills, 29 assists and 12 digs. Laura Rojas tallied 27 digs, one off of her career-high, dished out five assists and served an ace.
The win was SIU's fourth in its last five matches and improved Southern to 10-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
The Salukis are back in action tomorrow when they host the UNI Panthers for Strong Survivors Night. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
