Southern Illinois University
9-3,1-0MVC
UIC
9-5,0-1MVC
Salukis Open Valley Play with Four-Set Win at UIC
09/22/2023 | 9:33:00 | Women's Volleyball
Chicago, Ill. - Southern Illinois opened its Valley schedule Friday night with a trip to Chicago to take on UIC and came away with a four-set win (28-26, 26-24, 23-25, 25-23). All four sets were decided by just two points in a match that was as close as possible without going to a fifth-set. The Salukis improve to 9-3 (1-0 MVC) on the year as UIC falls to 9-4 (0-1 MVC).
The Flames got out to a quick start in the first set and held a 12-5 lead over the Dawgs before head coach Ed Allen called his first timeout of the match. The Salukis were able to fight their way back and found themselves tied at 18-18 after a pair of kills from Annabelle Sulish and Kelly Franklin. Tied for the 10th time of the set at 26, Southern was able to break away and take the first game after consecutive kills from Nataly Garcia.
Garcia put up a season-high 19 kills to go along with a .317 hitting percentage to lead the Salukis. 10 of Garcia's kills and two of her three aces came in the fourth and final set as she helped lead the Salukis to their first Valley victory of the year. The senior outside hitter and preseason All-MVC recipient Garcia also recorded her seventh double-double of the year and second-straight as she tallied 10 digs.Â
Sophomore Annabelle Sulish also had a big game for Southern as she also recorded her second-straight double-double with 17 kills and 11 digs. Sulish's 17 kills not only tied her season-high but came on just 35 attempts for a .371 hitting percentage.Â
Defensively, the Salukis were sound with nine blocks - four of which came at the hands of Imani Hartfield who led the Dawgs' defense at the net. Hartfield also finished with seven kills and a .412 hitting percentage. Cecilia Bulmahn led three Salukis in double-digit digs as she totaled 16 for her fifth-consecutive match with at least 13 digs.Â
Both Saluki setters contributed 20+ assists as Anna Jaworski led with 24 assists to go along with eight digs and three aces. Freshman Ema Stermenska dished out 22 assists as well as also recording a pair of aces and five digs.Â
The Salukis open Valley play 1-0 for the second-straight year as they look for their 10th win of the season tomorrow, Saturday September 23 at Valparaiso University.Â
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.Â
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