Salukis host Evansville/Indiana State to close out 2021 season

The Southern Illinois University volleyball team will send off its seniors this weekend with its final two matches of the 2021 season. The Salukis host the Evansville Purple Aces on Friday, Nov. 19 in a showdown that has Jimmy John's Cup implications. The Jimmy John's Cup was established this year as an annual trophy presented to the winner of the Evansville/Southern Illinois matchup across multiple sports. Southern will then honor its seniors, Katy Kluge and Bryleigh Buchanan, prior to Saturday's season finale against Indiana State.

All-time vs. Evansville

• The Salukis hold a 45-18 advantage in the all-time series versus the Purple Aces.

• The Aces have won three-straight in the series, and seven of the last eight matchups, which included a 3-1 win in Evansville on Nov. 1.

• Southern's last win over Evanville came on Nov. 16, 2019- a five-set win in Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

• SIU's last home win over the Aces came on Oct. 28, 2017- a five-set win.

All-time vs. Indiana State

• The Salukis hold a commanding 52-26-1 all-time record over the Sycamores.

• Indiana State has won five-straight, and six of the last seven in the series, which included a 3-1 win over SIU in Terre Haute on Oct. 11, 2021.

* SIU's last win in the series came on Nov. 7, 2018 in Davies Gym- a 3-1 Saluki win. Katy Kluge, who didn't play in that match, is the only player still on the team from that win.

Senior Day

• The Salukis will honor their two seniors, Bryleigh Buchanan and Katy Kluge, before Saturday's match against Indiana State.

• Buchanan tallied over 500 kills in two seasons at nearby John A. Logan College before transferring to SIU. She has appeared in four matches this season and put down a career-high five kills against Evansville on Nov. 1.

• A 2020 MVC Scholar Athlete Team selection, Katy Kluge has played in over 80 matches during her career and earlier this season she became just the 12th player in program history to reach the 1,000 career dig plateau.

• Kluge will finish her career ranked sixth in school history in career digs.

More on Kluge

• Katy Kluge comes into the final week of the 2021 season with 1,147 career digs - good for sixth-most in program history.

• Kluge, who technically still has two seasons of eligibility left after she didnt play in a match her freshman season (2018) and gets the COVID-season back (2020) could make a run at the school record should she elect to continue her playing career.

Kristy Elswick has the school record with 1,930 career digs, set in 2008.

• Kluge set career-high with 458 (and counting) digs is season and has averaged more than four digs per set in each of her last two seasons.

1,000 assists and counting

* With her 29 assists at Drake on Nov. 6, Anna Jaworski became just the third freshman in program history, and first since 2013, to reach the 1,000-assist plateau during their first season on campus.

* Jaworski joined Debbie Barr and Hannah Kaminsky as the only three Saluki first-years to accomplish the feat.

* Jaworski's 1,000 assists are the fifth-most nationally amongst DI freshmen.

• Jaworski's 9.38 assists per set average, meanwhile, are the 18th-most among NCAA DI freshmen.

• As far as Saluki freshmen records go, Jaworski's 1013 assists through 29 matches already ranks her third in school history. Debbie Barr-Rednour, mother of SIU's Ryan Rednour, holds the SIU freshman record with 1433 assists in 1996.

SIU freshmen assists record

1. Debbie Barr - 1,433

2. Hannah Kaminsky - 1,194

3. Anna Jaworski - 1,013

1,000 Career Digs and counting

* Katy Kluge became the 12th Saluki in program history to reach the 1,000 career dig plateau on Oct. 11 at Indiana State.

* Kluge tallied 15 digs against the Sycamores on Oct. 11 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 25 of SIU's 29 matches this season, which includes six matches with 20-plus digs.

* Kluge is the ninth active player in the Missouri Valley Conference to reach the 1,000 dig milestone.

Rylee Cookerly, Valpo - 2,977

Kylee Macke, Drake - 2,433

Hannah Thompson, Bradley - 1,808

Melina Tedrow, Indiana State - 1,609

Brittany Anderson, Valpo - 1,201

Alondra Vazquez, Evansville - 1,183

Katy Kluge, SIU - 1,147

Amelia Flynn, Missouri State - 1,139

Katy Weimerskirch, Illinois State - 1,121

Coming on strong as of late

* Alex Washington put together arguably her best weekend of the 2021 season last week at UNI/Drake, as she just missed back-to-back kill-dig double-doubles.

* Washington opened her weekend with 13 kills and a season-best 15 digs in just three sets at UNI on Nov. 5 for her eight career kill-dig double-double.

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