Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
6-6
Middle Tennessee
4-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Ill. | 25 | 23 | 25 | 18 | 1 |
| Middle Tennessee | 27 | 25 | 11 | 25 | 3 |
Salukis fall to Blue Raiders in four sets on day one of Golden Eagle Inivtational
09/20/2019 | 8:21:00 | Women's Volleyball
Hannah Becker finished with douible-digit kills for the second-straight match
The Southern Illinois University volleyball team fell in four sets (25-27, 23-25, 25-11, 18-25) to Middle Tennessee State on day one of the Golden Eagle Invitational, hosted by Tennessee Tech.
Southern battled throughout a back and forth first set that featured eight ties and seven lead changes. The Salukis (6-6) used a 6-1 run to take a 25-24 lead, but the Blue Raiders scored three-straight points to win the set.Â
SIU was forced to play catch up in the second set after MTSU raced out to a 5-0 lead. Southern trailed by as many as seven, but eventually tied the score at 22-all. Middle Tennesee, however, scored three of the final four points to claim set two, 25-23.Â
It was all SIU in the third set. Southern used an aggressive approach at the service line to tally four aces in the frame, including back-to-back aces by Emma Baalman. Southern also held the Blue Raiders to a -.111 hitting percentage in the frame.Â
Middle Tennessee again got out to an early lead in the fourth set. The Blue Raiders opened the frame with four-straight points. The Salukis returned the favor with Alayna Martin at the service line, as she served five-straight points to give SIU a 7-6 lead. That lead was short-lived though, as Middle Tennessee scored six of the next seven points to take the lead for good and seal the win.
The Salukis, playing without six rotation outside hitter Alex Washington for the second-straight match, had relatively good balance offensively but were plagued by hitting errors. Southern had four hitters with at least five kills, led by Hannah Becker's 11 terminations. The Salukis, however, hit just .065, which included -.075 in the fourth set. SIU did do its part to limit Middle Tennessee's attack, as Southern held the Blue Raiders to a .076 hitting percentage and had a season-best 10 blocks, led by a solo block and seven block assists from Lindsey Paulsen.
Becker led the Saluki attack with 11 kills, which marked the second-straight match in which she has finished with double-digit kills. Rachel Maguire tallied eight kills, nine assists, 15 digs and a career-high three aces, while Paulsen chipped in seven kills.
Defensively, SIU had four players with double-digit digs, led by Maguire's 15 digs. Alayna Martin notched 21 assists and 13 digs while Abi Fitzpatrick added 12 digs and Katy Kluge chipped in 10.
Southern returns to action tomorrow against Tennessee Tech (10 a.m.) before taking on Western Illinois (4 p.m.) to close out non-conference play.
