Southern Illinois University
Missouri State University
Salukis host Bears on Saturday
10/15/2021 | 10:36:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University volleyball team hosts the Missouri State Bears Saturday, Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. inside Davies Gym. Admission is free and the match will be streamed on ESPN+. The Bears have won two of their last three but come into Saturday's matchup after having been swept by Evansville Monday night. The Salukis fell to Indiana State in four sets in their most recent outing that saw redshirt junior Katy Kluge become the 12th Saluki to reach the 1,000 career dig plateau.
All-time vs. Missouri State
• Missouri State leads the all-time series with the Salukis, 59-21.
• Southern snapped a five-match losing streak to Missouri State with a 3-2 win on Oct. 21, 2019. The Bears evened up the season series with a 3-1 win over a depleted Saluki squad to close out the 2019 season.
• 15 of Southern's 21 wins in the series have come on its home court.
• 13 of SIU's 21 all-time wins over Missouri State have come in five set matches.
• SIU's last win over Missouri State came on Oct. 19, 2019- a 3-2 win inside Davies Gym.
- Southern's last five wins in the series dating back to 2013 have all come in five sets.
Coaching Connection
• Steve McRoberts was named the Missouri State head coach prior to the 2020-21 season.
• Prior to the 2011 season, Allen left Tulsa to take over the Alabama Crimson Tide. McRoberts inherited Allen's Tulsa squad that went 31-3, which included a perfect 20-0 in Conference USA play and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2010. The following season under McRoberts, the Hurricanes won 28 matches and again advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• McRoberts followed Allen to the SEC in 2014 when he took over at Ole Miss. After Allen was named SIU's head coach in 2018, McRoberts joined Allen in the MVC after he was named the head coach at Missouri State.
• Allen's 667 career wins are the 12th-most among active NCAA DI head coaches.
• McRoberts holds a 10-1 all-time record against Allen's DI teams.
Five Setters
• Southern fell in five sets to both Drake and UNI last weekend.
- It marked SIU's fourth and fifth five-set matches of the season.
- In Allen's first year as SIU's head coach, Southern set the school record for most five-set matches played in a season (13) and went 8-5 in those matches.
- The Salukis are 11-11 in five-set matches in Allen's three seasons as head coach.
Leading the Nation
• Anna Jaworski's 790 total assists are tied with UNC Greensboro's Gabriela McHugh for most total assists in the nation.
• Jaworski's 10.26 assists per set average, meanwhile, are the eighth-most among NCAA DI freshmen.
• As far as Saluki freshmen records go, Jaworksi's 790 assists through 20 matches already ranks her fourth in school history. Debbie Barr-Rednour, mother of SIU's Ryan Rednour, holds the SIU freshman record with 1433 assists in 1996.
1,000 Career Digs and counting
- Katy Kluge became the 12th Saluki in program history to reach the 1,000 career dig plateau Monday night at Indiana State.
- Kluge tallied 15 digs against the Sycamores to become the first Saluki since Andrea Estrada in 2017 to join the club.
- The junior from Oconomowoc, Wis. has reached double figures in digs in 17 of SIU's 20 matches this season, which includes six matches with 20-plus digs.
- Kluge is the eighth active player in the Missouri Valley Conference to reach the 1,000 dig milestone. Missouri State's Amelia Flynn joined the club earlier this season as well.
Rylee Cookerly, Valpo - 2,845
Kylee Macke, Drake - 2,304
Hannah Thompson, Bradley - 1,658
Melina Tedrow, Indiana State - 1,475
Brittany Anderson, Valpo - 1,147
Alondra Vazquez, Evansville - 1,110
Amelia Flynn, Missouri State - 1,040
Katy Kluge, SIU - 1,013
Full set of game notes is available here.
