SIU returns home to host Drake and UNI

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball will begin its final home stretch of the season by hosting Drake and Northern Iowa beginning Thursday, Oct. 30 in Davies Gym.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

Thursday: Drake, 6 p.m., Live Stats | Watch
Saturday: Northern Iowa, 5 p.m., Live Stats | Watch

SERIES HISTORY:

Drake has won the last nine in a row against SIU, with the last Saluki victory coming on Nov. 2, 2019, in Des Moines. Southern still leads the all-time series, 45-32.
UNI's streak stretches even further, winning 17 in a row and leading the all-time series 69-13. The Panthers have not lost a Missouri Valley Conference match since Nov. 16, 2022.

LAST TIME OUT:

SIU was swept by UIC and Valparaiso last weekend. The Salukis now sit at 10-14 overall, and 4-6 in the MVC, tied for sixth in the standings, which is the new cutoff to make the conference tournament.

QUICK HITS:

The Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball team was picked ninth in the annual coaches' Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. UNI led the poll once again with 120 points and 10 of the 11 first-place votes.
Southern Illinois returns eight players from the 2024 season: five outside hitters, two middle blockers, and one defensive specialist.
Eva Krakowski had a career-high 10 blocks against Murray State on Sept. 26, a mark that is tied for the most in The Valley this season. She is ninth in the MVC with 72 total blocks.
In 2025's season-opening win over Sam Houston, Annabelle Sulish set her career high in kills with 23. She ranks tenth in The Valley with 287 total points. The Knoxville, Tenn., native became the 17th player in Saluki history to eclipse 1,000 kills on Oct. 4 against Belmont.
Setter Emma Lade had 40 assists in the season-opening win over Sam Houston, the most by a Saluki setter since Anna Jaworski had 51 assists on Nov. 16, 2022. She ranks second in The Valley in total assists (614) and third in assists per set (6.46). She also has 27 aces, which is tied for fourth in The Valley.
Freshman setter Addison Kerr has made a big impact this season. She had the best game of her young freshman career in a loss to New Mexico State on Sept. 5, tallying 27 assists.
As a team, Southern Illinois is second in The Valley with 144 service aces.
Larissa Seger set a career-high with 15 kills against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 6, and currently ranks fifth in the MVC in hitting percentage (.351). Seger has also impressed from the service line with 34 aces, second in The Valley. She is second in The Valley with 91 total blocks and is fifth with 1.03 blocks per set.
Jillian Shaneyfelt is fourth in the MVC with 373 digs, and is seventh in digs per set with 4.14. She had a career-high 28 digs in the Oct. 17 reverse-sweep of Bradley.
Cecilia Bulmahn is eighth in the MVC with 275 digs. She is also tied for fourth in service aces with 27. In Southern's Oct. 3 loss to Indiana State, she became the sixth Saluki in history to reach 1,250 digs in her career.
Kelly Franklin has been ultra-efficient from the outside this season, hitting .308, which is ninth in the MVC. She has 277 kills, which leads the team and also ranks second in The Valley, and is ninth with 2.98 kills per set. She has 12 matches hitting over .350. On Oct. 11, she set a career-high with 23 kills. The Lake Worth, Fla., native ranks seventh in the MVC with 302 points.
Ella Swansiger had the best match of her Saluki career in the reverse-sweep win over Bradley on Oct. 17, tallying a career-high 20 kills in the comeback effort.
Southern had 10 aces in the four-set win over Oakland and in the loss to SEMO, both tied for the most in The Valley thus far. They also lead The Valley with the most aces in five sets, putting down 13 against McNeese State. In the Sept. 26 win over Murray State, they had 63 assists, tied for the most in the MVC in a four-set match.

FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X (@SIU_Volleyball), Instagram (@SIU_Volleyball) and Facebook (SalukiVolleyball). Fans can also download the Salukis Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cecilia Bulmahn

Kelly Franklin

Anna Jaworski

Addison Kerr

Eva Krakowski

Emma Lade

Larissa Seger

Jillian Shaneyfelt

Annabelle Sulish

Ella Swansiger

Scoreboard

Upcoming Events