Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
13-16, 5-10
Loyola University Chicago
19-8, 12-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyola Chicago | 25 | 17 | 25 | 22 | 15 | 3 |
| Southern Ill. | 20 | 25 | 18 | 25 | 10 | 2 |
Salukis battle but fall on Senior Night
11/09/2019 | 9:02:00 | Women's Volleyball
Alayna Martin notched her second career triple-double in her final match at Davies Gym.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University volleyball team gave the second-place Loyola Ramblers all they could handle on Senior Night Saturday inside Davies Gym, but the Ramblers took the fifth set to seal the match, 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 18-25, 25-22, 10-15).
The Salukis were playing in their second-straight five-set match and school-record tying 11th five-setter of the season despite a season-ending injury to outside hitter Hannah Becker, as well as injuries to freshmen Alex Washington and Bailey Neuberger. Southern did all it could to hand Loyola its third conference loss of the season, but the upstart Ramblers came alive in the fifth frame, as they hit .348 to seal the victory.
SIU was led by Alayna Martin, who, along with Laura Rojas, was playing in her final match at Davies Gym. The senior from Chesterfield, Mo. saved her best for last, as she notched just her second career triple-double with one of the best performances of her collegiate career. Martin tallied a career-high 16 kills to go along with 18 assists, 11 digs and two aces.
"Alayna's performance tonight was outstanding," said first-year head coach Ed Allen. "She went at it hard and got after it. It shows how hard she has chosen to compete all year and she has done everything that we have asked of her and more."
Martin was outstanding in every facet Saturday, and put down five kills in both the first and fourth sets. Laura Rojas, who transferred to SIU from Hillsborough Community College prior to her junior season, tallied 18 digs, seven assists and an ace in her final match in Carbondale. In doing so, Rojas became the first Saluki since Alex Rivera in 2013 to eclipse 500 digs in a single-season.
"We appreciate the efforts of both Laura and Alayna and how hard they have worked to help get this program turned around in the right direction," Allen said.
After the Ramblers took the first set, 25-20, the Salukis rallied with a convincing 25-17 victory in the second frame in which they used a 10-2 spurt to build a 10-point lead that it never relinquished. Loyola rallied with a 25-18 win in the third set, but Southern would not go away quietly, as Martin's five kills helped the Salukis lead from start to finish and force a fifth set.
The Salukis, who tied a 1982 school record for most five-set matches in a single-season with 11, couldn't get in system in the fifth frame, while the Ramblers' hitters seemed to come alive.
Savannah Sheridan joined Martin in double figures, as she put down 14 kills and added five digs. Rachel Maguire nearly posted her 12th triple-double of the season, as she finished with nine kills, 17 assists and eight digs. Lindsey Paulsen and Kat Wagner each added five kills.
Defensively, Abi Fitzpatrick dug out a career-high 25 balls and added an ace, while Rojas (18) and Martin (11) joined Fitzpatrick in double figures. Southern's 77 digs Saturday gives them 2,103 on the year- which moves them into second all-time in program history for digs in a single-season and it is the most by the Salukis since the 1985 team set the school record with 2,231. Southern will need just over 43 digs in each of its next three matches to break the 34-year old school record.
Southern also served aggressively throughout the match and it paid huge dividends. The Salukis finished with 11 aces, which marked the third time this season they've recorded double-digit aces. Emma Baalman led the way with a career-high four aces, while Martin and Katy Kluge each added two.
The Salukis are back in action next weekend when they travel to Indiana State on Friday, Nov. 15 (6 p.m.) and follow with a match at Evansville on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.
