Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
13-15,5-9MVC
Valparaiso University
11-16,6-7MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valparaiso | 25 | 23 | 17 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| Southern Ill. | 21 | 25 | 25 | 12 | 11 | 2 |
Crusaders outlast Salukis in five-set thriller
11/08/2019 | 9:58:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University volleyball team suffered a hard-fought defeat the hands of the Valparaiso Crusaders, 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 12-25, 11-15) Friday night inside Davies Gym.
After dropping the opening set to the Crusaders, Southern came out on top of an intense second frame that featured 16 ties and nine lead changes. The Salukis then led from start to finish in the third set to take a 2-1 set score lead. Valparaiso, however, rallied last, as they cruised to a 25-12 set four win and outlasted Southern in the fifth frame, 15-11, to seal the win.
It was Southern's 10th five-set match of the season, one off of the school record for five-setters set in 1982 and its most in a single-season since 1990.
Rachel Maguire had a career night for the Salukis. The Bloomington, Ill. native tallied her school-record 11th triple-double, as she put down a career-high 18 kills to go along with 22 assists and 10 digs. In doing so, she broke Meg Viggars' program record for most triple-doubles in a career. Alayna Martin was two kills shy of her second triple-double of the season, as she tallied eight kills, 28 assists and 18 digs. The senior setter also eclipsed the 900 career digs mark in the first set against Valparaiso.
Savannah Sheridan hit at a .359 clip with 16 kills and 11 digs for her first career double-double. Lindsey Paulsen, meanwhile, hit a team-best .450 with nine kills to go along with six blocks, including three solo stuffs. Kat Wagner, who hit outside for the first time all season due to an injury to Hannah Becker, put down eight kills and added four digs. It was the most kills in a match for Wagner since she put down nine in her Saluki debut against IUPUI on Aug. 25, 2018.
Defensively, Southern eclipsed the 2,000 dig mark as a team for the first time since the 1991 season. SIU notched its fifth 90-plus dig output of the season with exactly 90 digs against the Crusaders.
Five Salukis finished in double figures in digs, led by Laura Rojas, who finished with 23. It marked the fourth-straight match in which the senior libero has dug out 20-plus balls. Martin added 18 digs, while Sheridan (11), Abi Fitzpatrick (11), and Maguire (10) joined Rojas in double figures.
The Salukis will close out the 2019 home slate on Saturday with Senior Night against Loyola. Southern will honor its two seniors, Rojas and Martin, prior to tomorrow's match, which is slated for a 5 p.m. start.
