Salukis Drop Five-Set Thriller

Saturday, October 7

Carbondale, IL

5 PM

Southern Illinois University

12-6,4-3MVC

Belmont

10-11,4-3MVC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Belmont	22	25	21	25	18	3
Southern Ill.	25	16	25	23	16	2

10/10/2023 | 8:49:00 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Alec Runyan, SIUSalukis.com

Carbondale, Ill. -Southern Illinois suffered its second consecutive loss Saturday evening in a five-set thriller (25-22, 16-25, 25-21, 23-25, 16-18) as it played host to the Belmont Bruins. The Salukis came up just short as both teams traded sets and points throughout the evening but eventually the Bruins were able to pull away in the final set.

Despite the loss, Nataly Garcia had a season-high in kills (25), aces (4), and points (30.5). Garcia is currently fifth in the Missouri Valley while averaging 3.51 kills per set with 235 total on the year.

Senior Imani Hartfield also had a season-high with 13 kills and a season-high .500 hitting percentage. Hartfield's hitting at a .387 clip on the year, second-highest in the Valley.

The Salukis struggled at the service line with 14 errors on the night, proving to be too much in a very tight match.

Setters Anna Jaworski and Ema Stermenska both contributed to the Salukis offense throughout the night as Jaworski finished with 30 assists and Stermenksa tallied 27.

The Salukis hit the road next weekend as they travel to Iowa to play UNI and Drake on Friday and Saturday.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Volleyball, on Instagram at @SIU_Volleyball and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiVolleyball. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.