
Emma Lade
Photo by: Jordan Kruse
Salukis fall in four to Belmont
10/04/2025 | 10:45:00 | Women's Volleyball
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball suffered another tough four-set loss, this time at the hands of the Belmont Bruins Friday night in Nashville.
After Friday's loss to Indiana State, the Salukis started off on the right foot, led by its kills leader Kelly Franklin, who had six of her 19 on the night in set one. A quick 4-0 run gave the Salukis a 14-12 lead, one they would not relinquish to take an early match lead.
The Bruins struck back with a dominant second set in which they never trailed, coasting to a 25-16 win.
Head Coach Brittany Harry mentioned self-induced mistakes as a big reason for the disappointing 0-2 weekend.
"We didn't play our sharpest volleyball today, and the unforced errors that we are making is not something our team has made a habit of committing this season," she said. "We are usually really clean in the serve and pass game, and between today and yesterday, we have missed 20 serves. Those missed serves aren't allowing our opponents the opportunity to error, and we are completely taking the pressure off of them from having to side out on their own."
The Salukis stormed out to a 7-2 lead in set three, but Belmont forced a ferocious back-and-forth as the set continued. Southern had the first match point at 24-23, but could not close the deal as Belmont tallied two kills and an ace before an attack error from SIU gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead in a set the Dawgs desperately needed.
A 5-0 jolt seemed to send the Salukis in the right direction in set four, but the Bruins steadily climbed back and retook the lead midway through, and finished off the Salukis with a kill from Brenna Kauffeld to take the match in set four.
"This has been a tough week for us with all of the travel at this point in the season," Harry said. "So, we will rest and recover, and then it's right back to work to prepare for UIC and Valpo this weekend."
A bright spot from Saturday's contest was Annabelle Sulish, who tallied her career 1,000th kill, becoming the 17th player in Saluki to accomplish the feat.
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois takes a break from midweek action, and returns home to play UIC on Friday, Oct. 10 in Davies Gym.
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.
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After Friday's loss to Indiana State, the Salukis started off on the right foot, led by its kills leader Kelly Franklin, who had six of her 19 on the night in set one. A quick 4-0 run gave the Salukis a 14-12 lead, one they would not relinquish to take an early match lead.
The Bruins struck back with a dominant second set in which they never trailed, coasting to a 25-16 win.
Head Coach Brittany Harry mentioned self-induced mistakes as a big reason for the disappointing 0-2 weekend.
"We didn't play our sharpest volleyball today, and the unforced errors that we are making is not something our team has made a habit of committing this season," she said. "We are usually really clean in the serve and pass game, and between today and yesterday, we have missed 20 serves. Those missed serves aren't allowing our opponents the opportunity to error, and we are completely taking the pressure off of them from having to side out on their own."
The Salukis stormed out to a 7-2 lead in set three, but Belmont forced a ferocious back-and-forth as the set continued. Southern had the first match point at 24-23, but could not close the deal as Belmont tallied two kills and an ace before an attack error from SIU gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead in a set the Dawgs desperately needed.
A 5-0 jolt seemed to send the Salukis in the right direction in set four, but the Bruins steadily climbed back and retook the lead midway through, and finished off the Salukis with a kill from Brenna Kauffeld to take the match in set four.
"This has been a tough week for us with all of the travel at this point in the season," Harry said. "So, we will rest and recover, and then it's right back to work to prepare for UIC and Valpo this weekend."
A bright spot from Saturday's contest was Annabelle Sulish, who tallied her career 1,000th kill, becoming the 17th player in Saluki to accomplish the feat.
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois takes a break from midweek action, and returns home to play UIC on Friday, Oct. 10 in Davies Gym.
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.
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Team Stats
SIU
BEL
Kills
58
56
Errors
20
18
Attempts
165
160
Hitting %
.230
.238
Points
71.0
70.0
Assists
58
52
Aces
6
9
Blocks
7
5
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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