Southern Illinois University
University of Evansville
Salukis head to Evansville for pair of matches against Purple Aces
03/12/2021 | 10:29:00 | Women's Volleyball
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All-time vs. Evansville
• The Salukis hold a 45-15 advantage in the all-time series versus the Purple Aces.
• Southern snapped Evansville's four match win streak in the series on Nov. 16, 2019 with a five-set win in Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
• The two programs split the season series a year ago, as the visiting team was victorious in both matches.
Last time they met
• The Salukis overcame a 2-1 deficit to stun Evansville, 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-10) on Nov. 16, 2019 inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
• Southern recorded its most digs in a match in 29 years in the win. SIU totaled 119 digs, its most since 1990, and five Salukis finished in double figures, including four with 20-plus digs.Â
• Southern also notched a season-high 10.5 blocks in the win.
• Rachel Maguire notched her NCAA-leading 13th triple-double of the 2019 season in the win. She finished with 15 kills, 29 assists and 15 digs to go along with five blocks.Â
• Savannah Sheridan put down 13 kills and added six digs while Lindsey Paulsen added 10 kills, five digs and five blocks.Â
Gittens shines in debut
• Nsia Gittens averaged 3.17 kills per set for the Salukis in their series against the Sycamores.Â
• Gittens entered Sunday's match in the second set and promptly put down the first six kills of her collegiate career.Â
• The following day, she made her first collegiate start and finished with a team-high 13 kills.
• Gittens' older sister, Tyra, was crowned the NCAA Indoor Track and Field pentathlon champion for the second time in her career after a record-setting performance on Thursday in which she set the NCAA meet record, the collegiate record and the Trinidad and Tobago national record for the most points scored in the event (4746 points).Â
Front row swinging
• Alex Washington averaged 2.71 kills and 1.43 dogs per set in SIU's two games against Indiana State.Â
She finished with nine kills on Sunday and followed with 10 kills and seven digs on Monday.Â
• It marked the third-time this season that the Henderson, Nev. native has finished with double-digit kills.
• Washington, who has returned to the front row after playing primarily in the back row through the first half of the 2020-21 season, has put down nine-plus kills in four of her last five matches.
Piloting the attack
• Rachel Maguire is piloting SIU's 5-1 attack and is averaging 9.6 assists per set.
• Maguire's 9.6 assists per set average is the highest by a Saluki since Hannah Kaminsky averaged 10.57 assists per set in 2013.
• Maguire's 528 assists, meanwhile, are the third-most total assists in the Valley and ranks 26th nationally in the category.
Holding down the libero spot
• Katy Kluge is having a career year as Southern's libero.Â
• Kluge is averaging 4.8 digs per set- more than two digs more per set than last season's average of 2.54.Â
• The Oconomowoc, Wis. native ranks seventh in the league in digs per set.
• Kluge's 269 total digs are the third-most in Valley and rank 27th nationally.Â
• Kluge has notched double-digit digs in all of SIU's matches this season, which includes five matches with 20 or more digs.Â
Serving Middle
• In addition to hitting for a high percentage, Emma Baalman has already served 16 aces in 14 matches this season.
• Baalman's 16 aces are tied for sixth nationally among middle hitters.Â
• The redshirt senior, who had served just three aces in 42 matches prior to Coach Allen's arrival prior to the 2019 season, has since served up 45 aces in 42 matches.
Freshmen making an impact
• Southern's talented freshmen class has continued to show its potential this season.
• Seven true freshmen - Tatum Tornatta, Imani Hartfield, Taylor Morgan, Nsia Gittens, Peyton Plant, Ryan Rednour and MacKenzie Houser have all played extensively.
• Tornatta (118) and Hartfield (109) rank first and second on the team in kills while Houser (107) is one of three Salukis who already has 100-plus digs on the year.
• SIU's true freshmen account for 44.7-percent (296-of-661) of Southern's kills this season.
