Southern Illinois University
0-1,0-0MVC
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
1-0,0-0Sun Belt
Salukis drop a pair matches on day one of Southern Miss Classic
08/27/2021 | 3:11:00 | Women's Volleyball
Match 2 vs. Southern Miss
The Southern Illinois University volleyball team fell in four sets (25-22, 17-25, 15-25, 17-25) to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles on Friday night in Hattiesburg, Miss.Â
Nataly Garcia tallied her first double-double as a Saluki, as she finished with 11 kills and 12 digs to lead the Salukis. Nsia Gittens added 11 kills for her third double-digit kill output in her sixth career match. Southern's middles both hit for a high percentage, as Margherita Giani hit .261 with eight kills while Imani Hartfield hit .462 with seven kills and just one error.
Anna Jaworski dished out 38 assists and dug out nine balls while Katy Kluge totaled a team-high 21 digs.
Southern led from start to finish in the opening set, as the Salukis scored three of the first four points. SIU scored three-straight points to grow its lead to five, 8-3. Southern Miss continued to hang around and eventually forced Southern to use a timeout after it closed the gap all the way down to one, 22-21. The Salukis didn't flinch though, as they scored three of the final four points, which included two kills from Gittens to take the opening set, 25-22.Â
The Golden Eagles answered with a 7-3 run in the second set to turn a 7-all tie into a four-point advantage (14-10). The Golden Eagles kept their feet on the gas, as they pushed their advantage to six, 20-14 and cruised to a 25-17 victory from there.Â
After Southern Miss opened the third set with three-straight points, SIU answered with six of the next seven points to take a 6-4 lead. The two sides battled from there with neither holding more a two-point advantage until Southern Miss used a five-point spurt to take a 16-11 lead. The Golden Eagles ran away with the frame from there, as they took the set, 25-15.
The Golden Eagles kept momentum on their side, as they led from start to finish in the fourth set to seal the victory. The Salukis cut their deficit down to one, 9-8 on a double block by Margherita Giani and Nataly Garcia but that was as close they could get.Â
The Salukis are back in action tomorrow when they take on the Mississippi Valley State Devilettes at 2:30 p.m.
Match 1 vs. Louisiana
The Southern Illinois University volleyball team dropped a three-set decision (17-25, 23-25, 21-25) to the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns Friday, August 27 to open play at the Southern Miss Classic, hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi.
Tatum Tornatta hit at a .414 clip and put down eight kills to pace the Salukis. Imani Hartfield hit .500 with five kills on 10 swings while Nataly Garcia put down six kills to go along with seven digs in her Saluki debut.Â
Anna Jaworski piloted SIU's attack with 23 assists to go along with eight digs and a kill. Defensively, Katy Kluge led the way with 14 digs.Â
SIU scored three-straight points to break a 5-all tie in the opening set. Louisiana returned the favor with four of the next five points to tie the frame at 9-all. Louisiana kept momentum on their side and built a 17-12 advantage. The Ragin Cajuns kept their foot on the pedal to take the opening frame, 25-17. Southern had seven different hitters record at least one kill in the opening set, but were undone by its errors- the Salukis tallied eight attack errors and three service errors in the opener.
Southern used a 4-1 spurt to turn a 16-13 deficit into a 17-all tie. The two teams traded the next six points, with neither team leading by more than one until Louisiana used back-to-back kills to take a 22-20 lead. The Salukis used a timeout and regrouped, getting back-to-back points to once again tie the frame at 22-all. The Ragin Cajuns, however, scored three of the next four points to seal a 25-23 set two win.Â
The third frame was a see-saw affair that broke Louisiana's way late. Neither team led by more than two until the Ragin Cajuns broke a 18-all tie with four-straight points. Southern cut its deficit to two, 23-21, but Louisiana sided out and got the kill it needed on set and match point to seal the win.
