Southern Illinois University
Illinois State University
Salukis to host first-place Redbirds to close out 2020-21 season
03/26/2021 | 2:17:00 | Women's Volleyball
Southern will celebrate its six seniors- Hannah Becker, Kyra Hunter, Savannah Sheridan, Rachel Maguire, Emma Baalman and Lindsey Paulsen- after Sunday's match.
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Salukis will close out the 2020-21 season against the first-place Illinois State Redbirds this weekend. Both of this weekend's matches will start at 2 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+. Sunday's match will serve as Senior Day and will mark the final home match for seniors Hannah Becker, Kyra Hunter, Savannah Sheridan, Rachel Maguire, Emma Baalman and Lindsey Paulsen.
All-Time vs. Illinois StateÂ
• The Salukis and the Redbirds will meet for the 91st time in a series that dates back to 1975.Â
• Illinois State holds a commanding 76-13-1 lead in the all-time series, which includes a 37-7-1 all-time record vs. the Salukis in Carbondale.Â
• Southern's last home win over Illinois State came in 2019.
• The Redbirds have won five of the last six games in the series.
Last time they met
• SIU knocked off Illinois State, a NCAA Tournament team from last season, in four sets Oct. 25, 2019.
• It marked Southern's first win over Illinois State since 2016 and its first back-to-back conference wins since 2017.Â
• Hannah Becker had a career night in the win- she set career-bests in both kills (20) and hitting percentage (.462).Â
Leading from the middle
• Southern's middle hitters, Emma Baalman and Imani Hartfield, rank 1-2 in the MVC in hitting percentage.
• Baalman is hitting .299 and ranks first while Hartfield is second and hitting at a .293 clip.
• Baalman has put down double-digit kills in six matches while Hartfield has done so in five matches this season.
• Hartfield currently ranks first among Valley freshmen in hitting percentage.
Serving Middle
* In addition to leading the conference in hitting percentage, Emma Baalman has already served 19 aces in 18 matches this season.
* 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 48 aces in 46 matches.
Gittens shines
• Nsia Gittens averaged 3.50 kills and 3.75 digs per set at Drake.Â
• The freshman outside notched the first kill-dig double-double of her career and set career-bests in both kills (14) and digs (15) in doing so.Â
• Gittens has put down double figure kills in two of the three matches she has played in this season.
• 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
Showing out for the Hometown
• In her return to her home state of Iowa, Hannah Becker averaged 3.71 kills per set in Southern's two matches at Drake.Â
• The Polk City, Iowa native hit .288 with 26 kills on 73 swings and just five errors.
• Becker hit at a .348 clip and put down eight kills on March 21 and followed with a season-high 18 kills on 50 swings on March 22.Â
• It marked the sixth time that she has put down double-digit kills this season.
