Southern Illinois University
17-10,10-5MVC
Evansville
11-18,8-7MVC
The Salukis clinch MVC Tournament spot with win over Evansville on senior night
11/05/2022 | 8:55:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois volleyball team won its second-consecutive home match Saturday night defeating Evansville in four-sets (25-23, 28-30, 25-23, 25-19). The Salukis have clinched a spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with the win as they're currently third in the Valley standings.
Prior to the match, SIU honored its lone senior Bailey Neuberger for Senior Night. Neuberger recorded her 23rd ace of the season on her first serve of the night and finished with nine digs in the Saluki victory.Â
Evansville got out to a quick start by scoring the first three points of the match but Southern was able to bounce back immediately with a five-point run of its own to regain an early lead. The Salukis held the lead throughout most of the frame but a late run from the Purple Aces put SIU behind 21-23. Behind a pair of kills from Nataly Garcia, Southern would go on to score four straight and take the first set.Â
Much like the Salukis' four-set victory over Indiana State Friday night, Southern Illinois dropped the second set but was able to comeback to take the next two to secure the win. With 63 kills, SIU hit .242 on the night compared to Evansville's 57 kills while hitting .209. The Salukis have hit for .240 or higher in each of their last four matches.Â
Four Salukis totaled double-digit kills in the win, led by Nataly Garcia with 18, while hitting a match-high .366. Garcia also tallied 17 digs and three aces as well for her seventh double-double of the season.Â
Annabelle Sulish finished with 16 kills for the second-straight night, averaging 4.00 kills per set on the weekend. Tatum Tornatta tallied 14 kills and four total blocks as Imani Hartfield added four more blocks with 10 kills.Â
Sophomore setter Anna Jaworski quarterbacked the offense with 53 assists for her second-straight match with 50 or more assists and her seventh-straight with at least 45. Claudia Bobb added six assists of her own to go with 16 digs and just one receiving error.Â
The Salukis will hit the road for their final three matches of the regular season starting this Friday and Saturday with a trip to Iowa. Friday night SIU will play at Northern Iowa beginning at 6 p.m., followed by a matchup with Drake Saturday night with first serve set for 5 p.m.
Southern will make a quick turnaround following the weekend road trip as they'll then travel to Missouri State Monday night for the final match of the regular season starting at 5 p.m.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_WBasketball, on Instagram at @SIU_WBasketball and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
