Salukis kick off final road swing of 2021 season at UNI, Drake

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University volleyball team kicks off its final road swing of the 2021 season on Friday, Nov. 5 when they take on the Northern Iowa Panthers at 6 p.m. Southern then travels to Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 6 to take on the Drake Bulldogs at 5 p.m. Friday's match will be streamed on ESPN+. The Panthers have lost three of their last four matches and sit a match out of the sixth, and final, spot in the MVC Tournament, while the Bulldogs have lost seven-straight, with their last win coming in five sets over the Salukis on Oct. 8.

All-Time vs. Northern Iowa

• The Panthers hold a commanding 62-13 lead over the Salukis in an all-time series that dates back to 1982.

• UNI swept the season series from SIU a year ago.

• Northern Iowa has won 10-straight over SIU, with Southern's last win coming in a five-set thriller in Davies Gym on Sept. 23, 2016.

• SIU's last win over UNI: Sept. 23, 2016 (3-2 win)

All-time vs. Drake

• SIU holds a 45-25 advantage in the all-time series.

• The Salukis swept the season series from the Bulldogs in 2019 but Drake returned the favor in the spring with back-to-back wins in Des Moines.

• SIU is 20-14 all-time against the Bulldogs on the road.

Leading all freshmen

• Anna Jaworski's 956 total assists are the ninth-most nationally and the third-most among NCAA DI freshmen.

• Jaworski's 9.76 assists per set average, meanwhile, are the 14th-most among NCAA DI freshmen.

• As far as Saluki freshmen records go, Jaworski's 956 assists through 26 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. Jaworski needs 23 assists to pass Holly Marita for third on SIU's all-time list for assists by a freshmen.

SIU freshmen assists record

Debbie Barr - 1,433
Hannah Kaminsky - 1,194
Holly Marita - 978
Anna Jaworski - 956

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 22 of SIU's 26 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 - 2,965

Kylee Macke, Drake - 2,394

Hannah Thompson, Bradley - 1,772

Melina Tedrow, Indiana State - 1,573

Brittany Anderson, Valpo - 1,198

Alondra Vazquez, Evansville - 1,165

Amelia Flynn, Missouri State - 1,105

Katy Kluge, SIU - 1,099

Katy Weimerskirch, Illinois State - 1,081

Getting her shot

Bryleigh Buchanan made her Saluki debut against Illinois State on Oct. 29 and put down four kills on six swings.
The Harrisburg, Ill. native followed with five kills and three blocks at Evansville on Nov. 1.

Welcome back

Bailey Neuberger returned to Southern's lineup against Bradley on Oct. 30 after nearly six weeks without an appearance.
She put down four kills and tallied a pair of digs and followed with a career-high tying eight kills on 22 swings at Evansville on Nov. 1.

Kills in bunches

• Tatum Tornatta, who put down double-digit kills in five matches during the spring season, tied her career-high with 18 kills on .485 hitting against Loyola on Sept. 25.

• Tornatta has tallied double figure kills in 13 of SIU's 26 matches this season, of which six have come during conference play.

• The Evansville, Ind. native has also been adept at changing up her shots to find open holes on the floor- she has hit over .300 in eight matches, which includes five matches in which she has hit over .400.

Filling in

• Due to injuries to both Imani Hartfield and Maggie Wallenberger, freshman Averi Vanderzille has been thrust into the spotlight in the middle.

• Vanderzille has notched at least one block in all 18 matches that she has appeared, which includes multiple blocks in 10 matches this season.

• The Carterville, Ill. native also tied her season-best with five kills and hit at a .364 clip against Bradley on Oct. 1.

Swinging from anywhere

• Nataly Garcia ranks first in the Valley in total attacks (978) and has proven to be Southern's go-to hitter.

• Garcia needs just 22 attempts to join Rachel Maguire (1,050; 2019) and Savannah Sheridan (1,047; 2019) as the only Salukis in the last five years to reach 1,000-plus swings in a single-season.

• Garcia has put down at least 10 kills in 15 matches this season and has tallied nine kill-dig double-doubles this season, which includes 21 kills-16 digs against Drake on Oct. 8.

• The junior college transfer from Navarro College, who led the NJCAA with .73 aces per set in 2020, is tied for eighth in the MVC in total aces with 18. She has served at least one ace in 13 of SIU's 26 matches this season.

• Her six aces in SIU's 3-0 sweep of Mississippi Valley State on Aug. 28 were the most aces by a Saluki since Jennifer Berwanger served up seven at Drake on Nov. 3, 2007. It is tied for the 15th-most in a match in program history.

Putting down kills on the outside

• Nsia Gittens set a career-high with 18 kills against Central Arkansas on Sept. 17.

• Gittens has now put down double-digit kills in 12 matches this season.

Getting More Involved

• Ryan Rednour has been seeing the floor more in the back row for SIU and tallied a career-high 17 digs against Indiana State on Oct. 11.

Rednour has dug out double-digit balls in four matches this season.

• Rednour set a new career-best earlier this season with four aces against Loyola on Sept. 25.

Getting more acclimated

• Margherita Giani, who appeared briefly in just one set during the Spring 2021 season, has taken over the role as SIU's serving middle.

• Giani has 26 aces and is 11th in the league in total blocks (75).

• Giani has taken on a larger role in the offense due to the injury of Imani Hartfield, who was leading the MVC in hitting percentage before she went down.

The Maissana, Italy native had a career match against Missouri State on Oct. 16, as she hit a career-high .563 and put down 10 kills on just 16 swings. It marked the fourth time that Giani has put down double-digit kills this season and the third time this season that she has hit over .500.

Five Setters

• Southern fell in five sets to both Drake and UNI on Oct. 8-9.

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.

Acing the competition

• The Salukis currently ranks third in the Valley with 127 total aces.

• Southern ranks fifth in the MVC in aces per set (1.34).

• Seven different Salukis are already in double figures for aces on the season, led by Katy Kluge with 27.

Southern has cut down its service errors during MVC play, as they have finished with five or fewer service errors in 10 of its 13 MVC matches this season.
The Salukis served eight aces at Evansville on Nov. 1 - their most in a conference match this season.

Good First Pass

• Southern tied its season-low with just two receiving errors in the win over Alabama State on Sept. 11.

• The Salukis have given up just two aces in three matches already this season- all of which were wins.

• Southern's two aces allowed were its fewest in a match in the Ed Allen era.

Hit for high % = win

• Southern has hit over .300 in four matches this season, which includes a season-high .375 in a sweep of Mississippi Valley State on Aug. 28.

• The Salukis are 4-0 when hitting over .300 this season and have hit at least .200 in all five of their wins.

• Conversely, SIU is 0-19 this season when opponents hit .200 or better.

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