Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
IUPUI
Volleyball hosts Saluki Invitational at the Banterra Center this weekend
09/12/2019 | 2:53:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University volleyball team hosts the annual Saluki Invitational this weekend, welcoming Alabama State, IUPUI and Memphis to the Banterra Center.
SIU's Friday matches will be shown on ESPN3, with live stats available for all six matches.
Full Schedule
Friday, Sept. 13
Memphis vs. Alabama State - 10 a.m.
IUPUI vs. SIU - 12:30 p.m.
Alabama State vs. IUPUI - 5 p.m.
SIU vs. Memphis - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14
Memphis vs. IUPUI - 11 a.m.
SIU vs. Alabama State - 1:30 p.m.
All-time series vs. IUPUI
• SIU will open against IUPUI, with Friday's matchup marking the fifth time that the two programs have met.
• Southern holds a 4-0 all-time record vs. IUPUI.
• The Salukis defeated the Jaguars, 3-1 last season to open the 2018 season.
• This marks the second time that the two programs have met in Carbondale- the Salukis swept the Jaguars on Sept. 8, 2001.
Scouting the Jaguars
• IUPUI is 2-4 on the season and have lost three of their last four coming into the weekend.
• The Jaguars were picked to finish eighth in the 2019 Horizon League Preseason Poll.
• McKayla Wright leads the Jaguars offense with 84 kills, averaging a team-high 3.36 per set. She has now finished with double-digit kills five of her six matches this year.
All-time vs. Memphis
• Southern leads the all-time series against Memphis, 13-5 in a series that dates back to 1975.
• The Salukis won 11 of the first 12 meetings between the two schools from 1975 through 1988. The Tigers returned the favor, having won four of the last six.
• SIU won the most recent meeting between the two programs - a 3-0 sweep on Aug. 24, 2012 in Memphis.
• Southern is 8-3 all-time against Memphis on its home floor.
Scouting the Tigers
• The Tigers are off to a 6-0 start, their best start since 2006.
• Memphis has dropped just three sets heading into this weekend.
• Meredith Wallace leads the Tigers with a 3.61 kills per set average.
• Hannah Flowers has earned three-straight AAC weekly accolades and tied the conference record for aces (7) in a four-set match. Flowers was named to the AAC Preseason All-Conference team.
• Memphis was picked to finish last in the AAC Preseason Poll.
All-time vs. Alabama State
• This is the first-ever meeting between SIU and Alabama State.
• It will mark the fourth time SIU has faced a SWAC opponent - Southern is 3-0 all-time against SWAC schools, including a 3-1 win over Alabama A&M last weekend.
Scouting the Lady Hornets
• The Lady Hornets are coming off of a season in which they won the program's fifth SWAC title in the last six years with a 3-1 win over Alabama A&M.
• In doing so, Alabama State earned the league's auto bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to the eventual NCAA Champion Stanford Cardinals in three sets.
• The Lady Hornets are 3-4 on the season and have lost four-straight matches.
• The three-time defending SWAC champions were picked to win the league in the annual preseason poll.
• Bayle' Bennett was named the SWAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Five-Set Thriller
• The Salukis defeated the SEMO Redhawks in five-sets at Davies Gym on Tuesday.
• It marked their first five-set win at Davies since Nov. 11, 2017.
• It was Southern's seventh-straight win over SEMO on its home floor.
• It was also head coach Ed Allen's first win at Davies.
Freshman Sensation
• Alex Washington had 12 kills and a career-high 22 digs in SIU's five-set win over SEMO on Tuesday.
• It marked her fourth kill-dig double-double of the season.
• Her four kill-dig double-doubles are tied for the sixth-most in a freshman campaign in Saluki history. She's tied with Jene Pulliam (2003) and Jodi Miller (1990).
• Washington has also put down 10-plus kills in five-straight matches, which is tied for the 18th-most in a freshman season in program history.
Serving Up Aces
• The Salukis had five different players record at least one ace in the four-set win over Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 7 and served up a total of 13 aces.
• It was not only a season-high but it was the most aces for the Salukis in a match since Sept. 5, 2007 (3-0 win over WIU) when sets were played to 30 points.
Triple-Doubles
• Rachel Maguire's triple-double in the win over Southeastern Louisiana was the 24th in program history.
• She became just the fourth Saluki to record multiple triple-doubles in both a season and a career.
• Maguire's two triple-doubles rank second nationally- only North Dakota State's Kalli Hegerie (4) has more.
• The school record for triple-doubles in a season is 6, set by Meg Viggars during the 2015 season.
Utility Hitter
• Hannah Becker has put down seven kills in four-straight matches and has finished with five or more kills in six of SIU's seven matches this season.
• Becker's .333 hitting efficiency in the win over SEMO was a career-high.
• Prior to this season, Becker had only once tallied five or more kills in a match.
Coming out swinging
• Savannah Sheridan was named to the Saluki Bash All-Tournament team.
• Sheridan hit. 383 last weekend, including .619 with 13 kills on 21 swings in the win over Alabama A&M.
• Sheridan's .619 hitting percentage is the third-best in a match in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
• The junior transfer has put down 10 or more kills in four-straight matches including 10 in SIU's five-set win over SEMO.
Back in the swing
• Lindsey Paulsen returned to the starting lineup against SEMO for the first time since SIU's win over Alabama A&M and put down a season-high nine kills and hit for a team-best .381.
• The redshirt junior also led the Salukis with five blocks in the win.
Assist-Dig Double-Doubles
• Alayna Martin has five assist-dig double-doubles this season, including 19 assists and 12 digs in SIU's win over SEMO.
• Her 20 double-doubles are the 15th-most double-doubles in a career in school history.
Double-digit digs
• Laura Rojas has dug out 10 or more balls in all seven of SIU's matches this season.
• The senior libero dug out 24 balls and dished out seven assists in the win over SEMO.
• She has already doubled last season's assist total through seven matches, as she has 41 assists this season compared to 18 assists in 27 matches a year ago.
• Her two aces in the win over SEMO give her five for the season- two more than she had all of last season.
