Southern Illinois University
Loyola University Chicago
Game Notes: Volleyball vs. Loyola
02/06/2021 | 1:47:00 | Women's Volleyball
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All-time series vs. Loyola
• The Ramblers took an 11-7 edge in the all-time series that dates back to 1984 with their eighth-straight win in the series on Nov. 9.
• The two teams met just four times prior to Loyola joining the MVC in 2013 with SIU winning three of those four meetings.Â
• Since then, the Ramblers hold a 10-4 advantage and have won eight-straight in the series.
• Southern's last two wins in the series (10/30/15; 11/1/14) both came in Chicago.
• SIU's last home win over Loyola: 3-1 on Sept. 28, 2013. The 2013 season, which was the Ramblers first season in the Valley, was also the last time that Southern swept the season series.Â
• The Salukis are 3-6 all-time against the Ramblers on their home floor.
Coaching Matchup
• Amanda Berkley took over as Loyola's head coach after to the 2017 season. She arrived after five seasons as the head coach at Southern Mississippi.
• Allen's Alabama and Berkley's Southern Miss teams met four times between 2013-17, with the two sides splitting the four contests, 2-2.
• Berkley holds a 4-2 overall record against Allen after last season's series sweep by the Ramblers.
Last time they met
• The Salukis gave the second-place Loyola Ramblers all they could handle on Senior Night inside Davies Gym, but the Ramblers took the fifth set to seal the match, 3-2.
• It was Southern's 11th five-set match of the season- they later broke the 1982 school record for most five-set matches in a single-season.
The Salukis couldn't get in system in the fifth frame, while the Ramblers' hitters seemed to come alive. Loyola hit at a .348 clip in the frame.
• SIU was led by Alayna Martin, who in her final match at Davies Gym, notched just her second career triple-double with one of the best performances of her collegiate career. Martin tallied a career-high 16 kills to go along with 18 assists, 11 digs and two aces.
Five Setters
•  Southern fell in five sets to Missouri State in its conference opener on Jan. 30.Â
• It marked the second five-set match in its first four matches for the Salukis, who last season set the school record for most five set matches played in (13).Â
• SIU went 8-5 in 2019 in five set matches.
Nationally ranked in digs per set
• The Salukis, who finished 15th in the nation in 2019 in digs per set (17.67/set), are once again ranked in the top-25 in the category.Â
• Southern currently ranks first in the Valley and 11th nationally at 18.89 digs per set.
Kluge's career-night
• Katy Kluge set career-highs in both digs (34) and assists (8) in SIU's five-set loss to Missouri State on Jan. 30.Â
• Kluge's 34 digs were the most by a Saluki since 2012 and are tied for the most in a five-set match in school history. Overall, it is tied for the third-most in a match of any length in program history.
• It marks just the 16th time in program history that a Saluki has tallied 30-plus digs in a single match.
• Kluge currently leads the Valley, and ranks 13th nationally, in digs per set at 5.72/set. The junior libero also leads the MVC in total digs (103).
• The Oconomowoc, Wis. native has as many assists through four matches this season (18) as she had through 31 matches a year ago (17) and has more than doubled her digs per set average (2.5; 2019- 5.7; 2020-21).
Playing beyond her years
• Imani Hartfield hit a career-best .583 with eight kills on 12 swings against Missouri State on Jan. 30. She followed with a career-high 14 kills against the Bears on Feb. 2.
• The Sanford, Fla. native has put down at least six kills in each of her first four collegiate matches and has just nine errors on 85 swings this season.
• Hartfield currently leads all Valley freshmen, and ranks 16th nationally among first-years, with a .365 hitting percentage.Â
• Hartfield's .365 hitting percentage currently ranks second in the Valley.
50-plus assistsÂ
• Rachel Maguire dished out a career-high 50 assists to go along with 11 digs in SIU's win over Memphis on Jan. 23.Â
• Maguire's 50 assists are tied for the most in the MVC this season, and it is the most by a Saluki since Meg Viggars dished out 52 helpers at Indiana State on Nov. 14, 2015.
• With her 40 assists against the Bears on Tuesday, Maguire passed Teri Schultehenrich for 16th on SIU's all-time career assists list.
• Maguire leads the Valley in assists per set at 9.94, which is more than double last season's average (4.6).
New Faces
• The Salukis added nine newcomers for the 2020-21 season, of which five have already made their debuts.
• Ryan Rednour, Imani Hartfield, Tatum Tornatta, MacKenzie Houser and Taylor Morgan have all made their collegiate debuts.
• Houser has recorded double-digit digs in three-straight matches, which included a career-high 18 in its win over Memphis on Jan. 23.
• Tornatta has put down double-digit kills in two of SIU's four matches this season. The freshman out of Evansville, Ind. finished with 11 kills against Missouri State on Jan. 30.
• Rednour has appeared in all four matches this season while Taylor Morgan put down her first collegiate kill against Missouri State on Jan. 30.
Racking up kills
• Savannah Sheridan has put down double-digit kills in three-straight matches.
• Sheridan has now put down double figure kills in 21 matches during her two seasons at SIU.
