Southern Illinois University
10-4,2-1MVC
Evansville
6-8,1-2MVC
Salukis Take Down Aces in Valley Home Opener
09/30/2023 | 8:32:00 | Women's Volleyball
Carbondale, Ill. - Southern Illinois returned to Davies Gym Friday night to take on the Evansville Purple Aces for its first home Valley match of the season. The Salukis dropped the first set but came back to win the next three and take down the Aces in four-sets (15-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-22).Â
SIU got off to a slow start in the first set, finishing with just eight kills with a .059 hitting percentage. Following the slow start, the Salukis were able to bounce back in the following game with 19 kills in the second set.Â
Nataly Garcia and Annabelle Sulish led the Salukis with 15 kills each as Garcia also led the Dawgs with 14 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Garcia now totals 984 total kills in her career as she nears the 1000 mark.Â
All tied up at 10-10 in the second set, the Salukis went on a 5-0 run and never looked back. From there the Salukis would go on to lead the rest of the set before going on to win the following two and finish the match in four-sets.Â
Freshman Ema Stermenska made her first collegiate start for the Salukis and finished the match with a team-high 24 assists to go along with seven digs. Anna Jaworski also dished out 22 assists to help pace Southern's offense.Â
The Salukis return to Davies Gym on Saturday for another Valley match Saturday night at 5pm as Indiana State visits.
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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