Thursday, October 30
Carbondale, IL
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
10-15,4-7MVC
1
vs
3
Drake
12-10,8-3MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Drake
21
25
25
25
3
Southern Ill.
25
20
21
17
1
Annabelle Sulish
Salukis falter late in four-set battle with Drake
10/30/2025 | 10:22:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois gave Drake all it could handle early, but the Salukis ran out of steam late as they fell in four sets to Drake Thursday night in Davies Gym.
Head Coach Brittany Harry was pleased with how her team came out of the gates.
"We started off really hot in the first set," Harry said. "We won lots of long rallies and our first contact was really good."
Harry's leading outside hitters, Kelly Franklin and Annabelle Sulish, led the way in set one, combining for 11 kills in the frame. The Salukis would never look back after taking a 5-4 lead, steadily building a lead to win the set 25-21.
The Bulldogs won sets two and three in a hard-fought fashion. The teams traded leads throughout, but the Bulldog hitters seemed to make plays at the right times, while Harry believes her team committed too many unforced errors.
"Drake is a really good team, and their outsides went to work in set two, and we just didn't have any answer for them despite the many adjustments we made," she said. "We also had really timely errors, which halted any momentum we had at the end of the match."
Drake's Kacia Brown led the Bulldogs with 23 kills on the night.
Southern could not get any momentum going in set four, falling behind 5-0 right out of the gate. The Salukis would get within two in the middle of the set, but a late 7-0 run would all but seal the deal as Drake closed out the match with a 25-17 win.
"We had some great spurts in there, though, and it's still a work in progress for us," Harry said. "So, tomorrow it's back to the lab so that we can be prepared for UNI on Saturday."
Despite the loss, several Salukis achieved statistical feats, none more noteworthy than Cecilia Bulmahn, whose 15 digs lifted her to the top five of SIU's career digs list, with 1,363. Bulmahn (10 kills, 15 digs), Emma Lade (28 assists, 12 digs) and Sulish (15 kills, 13 assists) each tallied double-doubles as well.
UP NEXT
SIU will take Halloween to prepare for Northern Iowa. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday night.
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.
Head Coach Brittany Harry was pleased with how her team came out of the gates.
"We started off really hot in the first set," Harry said. "We won lots of long rallies and our first contact was really good."
Harry's leading outside hitters, Kelly Franklin and Annabelle Sulish, led the way in set one, combining for 11 kills in the frame. The Salukis would never look back after taking a 5-4 lead, steadily building a lead to win the set 25-21.
The Bulldogs won sets two and three in a hard-fought fashion. The teams traded leads throughout, but the Bulldog hitters seemed to make plays at the right times, while Harry believes her team committed too many unforced errors.
"Drake is a really good team, and their outsides went to work in set two, and we just didn't have any answer for them despite the many adjustments we made," she said. "We also had really timely errors, which halted any momentum we had at the end of the match."
Drake's Kacia Brown led the Bulldogs with 23 kills on the night.
Southern could not get any momentum going in set four, falling behind 5-0 right out of the gate. The Salukis would get within two in the middle of the set, but a late 7-0 run would all but seal the deal as Drake closed out the match with a 25-17 win.
"We had some great spurts in there, though, and it's still a work in progress for us," Harry said. "So, tomorrow it's back to the lab so that we can be prepared for UNI on Saturday."
Despite the loss, several Salukis achieved statistical feats, none more noteworthy than Cecilia Bulmahn, whose 15 digs lifted her to the top five of SIU's career digs list, with 1,363. Bulmahn (10 kills, 15 digs), Emma Lade (28 assists, 12 digs) and Sulish (15 kills, 13 assists) each tallied double-doubles as well.
UP NEXT
SIU will take Halloween to prepare for Northern Iowa. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday night.
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.
Team Stats
DRA
SIU
Kills
62
55
Errors
16
22
Attempts
166
173
Hitting %
.277
.191
Points
72.0
62.0
Assists
59
54
Aces
2
2
Blocks
8
5
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball10.29.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at Lindenwood -Rolyns Aligbe
Friday, October 31
10.29.25 | Saluki Radio Postgame at Lindenwood - Scott Nagy
Friday, October 31
10.31.25 | Saluki Radio Preview - at Murray State
Friday, October 31
10.30.25 | Saluki Football Radio Podcast - At Murray State
Thursday, October 30