Southern Illinois University
5-23,0-15MVC
Drake University
10-12,5-9MVC
Bulldogs down Salukis, 3-0
11/07/2021 | 12:37:00 | Women's Volleyball
The Southern Illinois University volleyball team fell in three sets to the Drake Bulldogs Saturday night inside the Knapp Center.
Nataly Garcia posted her 11th kill-dig double-double of the season while Alex Washington was a kill shy of a second-straight double-double of her own in the loss. Garcia hit a solid .321 with 12 kills to go along with 10 digs. Washington, meanwhile, finished with nine kills and 10 digs. Tatum Tornatta chipped in eight kills with just two errors.
Defensively, Katy Kluge led the way with 13 digs. Garcia and Washington each finished in double figures while Anna Jaworski dished out 21 assists. In doing so, the Naperville, Ill. native became just the third freshman in program history, and first since 2013, to hand out 1,000-plus helpers in their first season at SIU.
The Bulldogs used a 7-2 spurt to break a 10-all tie in the opening frame and never looked back. Drake used another 7-2 run to open the second set to take a lead it never surrendered. Southern fought to within two on multiple occasions, lastly at 14-12, but that was as close as they could get.
The outcome of the third set hung in the balance for throughout the first half of the third set, as the Bulldogs took the first lead of more than two at 17-14. The Salukis immediately scored the next two to get to within one, and later a kill by Garcia knotted up the score at 21-all. But Drake scored four of the final five points to take the set and match.
The Salukis play their final road match of the 2021 season on Friday, Nov. 12 at Missouri State. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
