Salukis set to wrap up non-conference play at Redhawks Invitational

The Southern Illinois University volleyball team travels to Cape Girardeau to close out non-conference play at the Redhawks Invitational on Sept. 17-18. The Salukis open against Central Arkansas on Friday at 1 p.m. before taking on SEMO later that night at 7 p.m. Southern closes out the two-day tournament against Tulsa on Saturday, Sept. 18 at Noon.

Scouting the opposition

SEMO

SEMO went 14-3 during the 2020 spring season and secured the No. 3 seed in the 2020 OVC Championship Tournament. SEMO's 14 league wins in 2020-21 are its most since 2007.
The Redhawks were picked to finish second in the 2021 OVC Preseason Poll.
SEMO returns 15 letter winners and all but one starter from the 2020 spring squad. All-OVC returnees Laney Malloy and Claire Ochs lead the returners.
SEMO's defense has been superb during its 6-3 start to the 2021 season, as they lead the nation in total digs (719) and rank fifth nationally in digs per set (18.92/set).
The Redhawks' Tara Belismith leads the nation in total digs (224) and ranks fifth nationally in digs per set (5.89/set).

All-time vs. SEMO

• Southern holds a 25-12 all-time record over SEMO dating back to the 1975 season.

The Salukis have won five of the last six and nine of the last 11 meetings over the Redhawks.
The Salukis are 11-6 all-time on the road or at neutral sites against SEMO.
Southern has won three of the last four meetings against the Redhawks in Cape Girardeau.
The Salukis won the most recent meeting- 3-2 in Carbondale on Sept. 10, 2019.
The Redhawks were victorious the last time the two teams met in Cape Girardeau- a 3-0 win for SEMO on Sept. 4, 2018.

All-time vs. the Ohio Valley Conference

Southern is 88-36 (.702) all-time versus current OVC schools.
The Salukis have won 23 of their last 28 matches against Ohio Valley schools dating back to 2006.

Familiar Face

SEMO head coach Julie Yankus was an assistant coach at SIU under Brenda Winkeler for five seasons from 2005-10.
Since taking over as the head coach of the Redhawks, Yankus has a 2-6 record against her former school, which includes 2018's 3-0 win over the Salukis.

Tulsa

The Golden Hurricane come into the weekend with a 3-3 overall record.
Tulsa was picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in the annual American Athletic Conference Preseason poll.
The Hurricane went 2-8 during the 2020 spring season and return 11 letter winners, including all seven starters, from that squad.
Tulsa comes into the weekend ranked second nationally in digs per set (19.62) and 13th nationally in team attacks per set (38.79/set).
Kayley Cassaday has handled the bulk of the offense as she ranks 21st nationally in attacks per set (11.88).

All-time vs. Tulsa

SIU is 10-1 all-time vs. the Hurricane.
The Salukis went 8-0 against Tulsa when the Hurricane were in the Missouri Valley Conference (left prior to 1996) and didn't drop a set to Tulsa in those eight matches.
Southern won the most recent meeting between the two schools- 3-1 on Sept. 12, 2015.
SIU's most recent win over an American Athletic Conference foe came last season, when the Salukis defeated Memphis in five sets on Jan. 23, 2021.

Central Arkansas

The Sugar Bears have lost five in a row after winning their season opener over Little Rock.
Central Arkansas, under the direction of second-year head coach John Newberry, is competing in the ASUN for the first time this season.
The Sugar Bears were picked to finish eighth out of 12 teams in the 2021 ASUN Conference Preseason poll.
Central Arkansas has struggled with establishing a net presence, as opponents are hitting .285 against the Sugar Bears. That ranks 321st out of 332 NCAA DI teams.

All-time vs. UCA

• The Salukis are 0-1 all-time against the Sugar Bears.

Southern dropped a four-set decision to UCA on Sept. 15, 2018.
SIU is 11-3 all-time against current ASUN Conference programs. Southern's last win over a ASUN school came on Sept. 14, 2013- a 3-1 win over Eastern Kentucky.

Nice to see you again

Tulsa head coach Ryan Wills got his start coaching as a student assistant under SIU head coach Ed Allen at Tulsa in 2006 and helped the Golden Hurricane win its first Conference USA regular-season title that year.
After a stint at UCLA, Wills returned to Tulsa and helped Allen's Golden Hurricane go 31-3 and advance to the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Wills followed Allen to Alabama, where he spent three seasons on Allen's staff and helped the Tide go 53-44. SIU assistant coach Tristan Johnson was a student-assistant on staff with Wills and Allen from 2012-13.
Wills is 2-0 all-time against Allen coached teams. Wills' Tulsa teams defeated Allen's Bama squads in five sets in both 2015 and 2016.

Last Week

The Salukis went 2-2 last week, posting back-to-back sweeps of USC Upstate and Alabama State to close out the week.
Southern's win over USC Upstate was the program's first-ever win over a Big South Conference program.
SIU's victory over Alabama State helped the Salukis improve to 7-0 all-time against SWAC schools.
Southern's back-to-back sweeps were the program's first since Aug. 26-27, 2016.

Dishing out helpers

Anna Jaworski averaged 10.07 assists, 1.64 digs and .43 aces per set as SIU went 2-2 on the week.
The Naperville, Ill. native finished with at least 25 assists and served at least one ace in each of SIU's four matches, which included her second career assist-dig double-double in SIU's win over USC Upstate.
Jaworski leads NCAA Division I freshmen in total assists (380) and ranks third nationally among true freshmen in assists per set (10.56/set).
Jaworksi's career-high 71 assists in SIU's win over UT Martin remain the most in a NCAA DI match this season.
She became the first Saluki to post 70-plus assists in a match since Debbie Barr last did so in 1997. Her 71 assists also rank as the second-most in a match by a freshman in Saluki history.

Serving up aces

The Salukis rank first in the Valley, and 32nd nationally, with 63 total aces.
Southern served just 89 aces in 20 matches in 2020. SIU's 1.75 aces per set average thus far this season is significantly higher then Southern's 1.2 aces per set average in 2020.
The Salukis have served double-digit aces in two matches this season- which is twice as many as it had during the 2020 spring season.
Katy Kluge, who served four aces in back-to-back matches to close out the Saluki Invitational last weekend, leads the conference with 15 aces this season. Nataly Garcia ranks sixth in the Valley with 13 aces.

Good First Pass

• Southern tied its season-low with just two receiving errors in the win over Alabama State on Sept. 11.

The Salukis have given up just two aces in three matches already this season- all of which were wins.
Southern's two aces allowed were its fewest in a match in the Ed Allen era.

Hit for high % = win

Southern has hit over .300 in four matches this season, which includes a season-high .375 in a sweep of Mississippi Valley State on Aug. 28.
The Salukis are 4-0 when hitting over .300 this season and are 5-0 this season when hitting over .200.
Conversely, SIU is 0-5 this season when opponents hit .200 or better.

Picking up where she left off

Katy Kluge averaged 3.86 digs, 1.0 assists and .79 aces per set as SIU went 2-2 on the week.
The Oconomowoc, Wis. native has recorded double-digit digs in eight of Southern's 10 matches this season,
which included a season-high 29 digs in the win over UT Martin.
The redshirt junior is now 162 digs shy of becoming the 12th Saluki to record 1,000-plus career digs.

Getting more involved

Margherita Giani has recorded multiple blocks in each of SIU's 10 matches this season, which includes a career-high eight in Southern's win over UT Martin on Sept. 3.
Her 36 total blocks rank second in the Missouri Valley Conference and are tied for the 30th-most nationally amongst underclassmen.
SIU's serving middle, Giani has at least one ace in six of her last eight matches.

Pin hitters secured

Nsia Gittens set career-highs in kills (16) and hitting percentage (.483) in the win over Alabama State on Sept. 11.
Gittens has now put down double-digit kills in three-straight matches and in five of SIU's last six matches.
Tatum Tornatta, meanwhile, put down a career-high 18 kills against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 10 and has double figure kills in five of SIU's 10 matches this season.
Tornatta's five matches with double-digit terminations are as many as she had during the entire 2020 spring season.

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