Southern Illinois University
1-4,0-3MVC
Loyola University Chicago
3-1,2-1MVC
Salukis drop three-set decision to Ramblers
02/07/2021 | 4:21:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University volleyball team dropped a three-set decision (22-25, 13-25, 17-25) to the Loyola Ramblers Sunday, Feb. 7 in Missouri Valley Conference play inside Davies Gym.
Serve receive once again plagued the Salukis (1-4, 0-3 MVC), as Southern struggled to remain in system to the tune of a 42-percent (31-74) sideout percentage. Southern was unable to sideout above 48-percent in any of the three sets on Sunday. With first ball contacts not where they needed to be, SIU's offense sputtered. The Salukis hit just .071 for the match.
"Well we didn't do anything well today," second-year head coach Ed Allen said. "We didn't pass well, we didn't attack well, we didn't set the ball well and we didn't defend well. We were consistent."
Loyola attacked from all angles and found their pin hitters for kills whenever it seemed SIU got within striking distance. Elle Van Grinsven led all hitters with 10 kills while Anna Feldkamp added nine kills to help the Ramblers hit .290 as a team. The Salukis didn't do themselves any favors, as Southern totaled 31 errors, which included seven receive errors and three service errors.
Southern fell behind early in the first set, as Loyola ran off five of the first six points. SIU responded with eight of the next nine points to build a 9-6 lead, but the Ramblers answered right back with five-straight points to build a two-point advantage. The Salukis took their final lead of the opening frame, 16-15, on a kill by Savannah Sheridan, but that was as close as they could get.
SIU got out to a 7-5 lead on a double block by Taylor Morgan and Emma Baalman in the second set, but Loyola ran off the next five points to build a lead that proved insurmountable. With momentum on their side, the Ramblers led from start to finish in the third set to seal the victory.
Freshman Tatum Tornatta paced the Salukis with six kills. Tornatta was one of seven Salukis to record a kill in the match. Fellow freshman Taylor Morgan chipped in a career-best five kills and three digs while Rachel Maguire tallied 22 assists, seven digs and two kills. Defensively, Southern was led by Katy Kluge, who finished with 16 digs to go along with three assists and three aces.
The Salukis are back in action tomorrow when they host Loyola for the second match of the season series. First serve is set for 3 p.m.
