Southern Illinois University
Indiana State University
Volleyball hosts Indiana State beginning Sunday
03/06/2021 | 11:31:00 | Women's Volleyball
The Southern Illinois University volleyball team returns home to Davies Gym beginning Sunday to take on the Indiana State Sycamores. The Sycamores are coming off a split with Northern Iowa while the Salukis dropped a pair at Bradley last weekend. Both matches this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+.
All-time vs. Indiana State
• The Salukis hold a commanding 52-22-1 all-time record over the Sycamores.
• Indiana State swept last season's series after Southern was forced to play shorthanded in both matches.Â
- SIU's last win in the series came on Nov. 7, 2018 in Davies Gym- a 3-1 Saluki win behind 10 kills from Lindsey Paulsen.
Last time they met
- The Salukis took the opening set from the Sycamores on Nov. 15, 2019 but were undone by their miscues. Nearly half of Indiana State's points (46-of-96) came off of Southern's errors.
- Savannah Sheridan put down a career-high 19 kills and added three digs. Rachel Maguire, meanwhile, notched her 12th of 13 triple-doubles during the 2019 season, as she tallied 11 kills, 18 assists and 12 digs.Â
Hitting for a high percentage
- Southern hit .245 in four sets at Bradley on March 1.Â
- The Salukis had three attackers hit over .300 against the Braves - Taylor Morgan (.450), Tatum Tornatta (.323) and Emma Baalman (.316).Â
- SIU's .245 hitting percentage was its best in a four set match this season and the second-best it has hit in a match of any length this season.
Career Night
 • Tatum Tornatta set or tied her career-bests in both hitting percentage (.323) and kills (13) at Bradley on March 1.Â
- It marked the third-straight match, and the fifth overall time this season, that the Evansville, Ind. native has put down double-digit kills.
Another One
- Taylor Morgan recorded her second kill-dig double-double of the season with 11 kills on a .450 hitting percentage to go along with 10 digs against Bradley on March 1.
Serving up aces
- Southern totaled a season-high 12 aces against the Northern Iowa Panthers on Feb. 23, which were its second-most in a match under head coach Ed Allen.
- It is also the second-most in a five-set Valley match this season and the most for SIU since Oct. 4, 2019.
Leading from the middle
- Southern's middle hitters, Emma Baalman and Imani Hartfield, rank 1-3 in the MVC in hitting percentage.
- Baalman is hitting .322 and ranks first while Hartfield is third and hitting at a .291 clip.
- SIU and Bradley are the only two programs with two players ranked in the top-10 of hitting efficiency.Â
- Baalman has put down double-digit kills in five matches while Hartfield has done so in four matches this season.
• Hartfield currently ranks first among Valley freshmen in hitting percentage.
Racking up digs
- The Salukis rank 29th nationally, and sixth in the MVC, in total digs with 814.Â
- Southern's libero Katy Kluge currently ranks 26th nationally, and second in the Valley, in total digs with 241.Â
- SIU has dug out 65 or more balls in nine of its 12 matches this season, which includes four matches with 85-plus.
Dishing out helpers
- Rachel Maguire averaged 11.0 assists and 5.0 digs per set in Southern's series at Bradley.Â
- The senior setter tallied assist-dig double-doubles in both matches. She opened the series against the Braves with 44 assists and a season-high 23 digs on Feb. 28, and followed with 44 assists and 17 digs on March 1. Maguire now has nine assist-dig double-doubles on the season.
- It marked the third time this season that Maguire has finished with 50 or more assists and it was her seventh assist-dig double-double of the season.Â
Keeping the ball off the floor
- Katy Kluge averaged 4.67 digs per set in last weekend's series against Bradley.Â
- The junior from Oconomowoc, Wis. finished with 18 digs in Sunday's opener, and tallied 19 digs the following day.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
