Southern Illinois University
1-2,0-0MVC
Mississippi Valley State
0-3,0-0SWAC
Salukis down Devilettes for first win of 2021 season
08/28/2021 | 3:54:00 | Women's Volleyball
The Southern Illinois University volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Mississippi Valley State (25-21, 25-8, 25-13) to post their first win of the 2021 season Saturday on the final day of the Southern Miss Classic.Â
The Salukis trailed just twice in the entire match, as they trailed briefly in the first and third sets. SIU hit .375 as a team, which was its highest hitting percentage in a match since Aug. 31, 2018. The Salukis used a balanced attack to post their first win of the 2021 season, as Southern had four attackers record at least seven kills. SIU served aggressively to the tune of nine aces, of which six came from Nataly Garcia.Â
Tatum Tornatta hit a career-best .632, as she put down 12 kills on 19 swings with no errors. Garcia tallied nine kills, nine digs and six aces while Imani Hartfield hit a robust .778 with seven kills and no errors. Southern's other middle, Margherita Giani, hit .538 with seven kills and two aces.Â
Anna Jaworkski handled the setting duties for the Salukis and dished out 39 assists to go along with four digs and two kills. Katy Kluge added a team-best 13 digs to lead Southern's defensive efforts.
MVSU scored three of the first four points of the first set. Southern answered with three of the next four points to tie the frame at 4-all. The Devilettes ripped off eight of the next 10 points to build a 12-6 lead. Southern used a 7-2 spurt to cut its deficit to one, 14-13 and later tied the frame at 16-all. The score remained tied at 20-20 before the Salukis pulled away with five of the final six points to seal a 25-21 set one win.
Southern scored the first five points of the second set and never looked back. Southern's lead was never less than four and the Salukis scored 12-straight points to close out their 25-8 set two win.
The Salukis kept their feet on the pedal, as they scored four of the first five points of the third frame. The Devilettes responded with five of the next six points to get to within one, 6-5, but SIU scored nine-straight points to effectively put the match to bed.
The Salukis return to action next weekend when they host the Saluki Bash at the Banterra Center. Southern will host Alabama A&M, UT Martin and Oral Roberts during the two-day event, which begins on Friday, Sept. 4.
