Southern Illinois University
3-0,0-0MVC
North Carolina A&T
1-2,0-0CAA
Salukis Remain Unbeaten with Pair of Five-Set Wins
09/01/2023 | 12:20:00 | Women's Volleyball
Charleston, S.C. - Southern Illinois began the Charleston Southern Tournament Friday morning with a five-set win over North Carolina A&T (23-25, 13-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-8). The Salukis dropped the first two-sets before pulling off a reverse sweep and taking the match 3-2.
Sophomore Kelly Franklin led Southern with a career-high 11 kills while hitting a .474 for her second consecutive match with double-digit kills and a hitting percentage over .400. Fellow outside hitter Tatum Tornatta also reached double-digit kills, tallying 10 behind a season-high .409 hitting percentage.Â
Trailing 4-7 in the third set, Southern was able to go on a 6-0 run with Annabelle Sulish at the service line and would go on to lead the rest of the match after forcing an Aggie timeout at 10-7. After the slow start, the Salukis went on to hit for a .500 hitting percentage in the fourth set before closing out the comeback with a 15-8 win in the fifth set that ended on an ace from Anna Jaworski.
Preseason All-MVC recipient Nataly Garcia neared her third consecutive double-double of the year with nine kills and 15 digs to go along with a match-high three aces.Â
Following Southern's comeback win over NC A&T, the Salukis held off Chattanooga from pulling off a comeback of their own in a five-set thriller (25-16, 28-26, 24-26, 23-25, 15-13) to hand the Mocs their first loss of the season.Â
With the pair of wins, the Salukis improve to 4-0 as they look to win their second-straight tournament to open the 2023 season.
Four Salukis finished with 12 or more kills in the Dawgs' second win of the day as Tatum Tornatta led with 17 for a new season-high. Kelly Franklin topped her career-high 11 kills against NC A&T with 15 in the win over Chattanooga. Franklin has now had double-digit kills in all three matches she's played in this season with a .395 hitting percentage.
Southern Illinois saw both the highs and lows at the service line with 11 aces but also tallying 14 errors. Nataly Garcia and Annabelle Sulish led the Salukis with four aces each while also both recording a double-double between kills and digs.
SIU will look to remain unbeaten and take down host Charleston Southern tomorrow at 12:30 pm for its third and final match of the tournament.
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.
