Saturday, November 8
Carbondale, IL
5 PM
Southern Illinois University
11-17,5-9MVC
2
vs
3
Belmont
16-9,7-7MVC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Belmont
25
20
22
25
15
3
Southern Ill.
18
25
25
14
12
2
Eva Krakowski and Kelly Franklin
Photo by: Makayla Ward
SIU suffers brutal five-set loss to Belmont on senior night
11/08/2025 | 9:22:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - In an epic back-and-forth battle, the Salukis came up just short against Belmont in five sets Saturday night in Davies Gym.
The teams were separated by one game in the conference standings heading into the night, with the Bruins' victory in Nashville being the difference.
Belmont came out firing in set one, and an early 5-0 run helped them cruise to a 1-0 lead in the match, winning the frame 25-18.
The Salukis got the energy back in Davies Gym with a ferocious effort in set two, screaming out to a 4-0 advantage and forcing two early Belmont timeouts.
The senior outside hitters were the driving force of Southern's offense. Seven of Southern's first nine points of set two were kills from Kelly Franklin and Annabelle Sulish.
Belmont kept set two close, but SIU held the lead throughout, and Cecilia Bulmahn tallied two kills late and teamed up with Eva Krakowski for the set-clinching point.
The Salukis continued their great offensive play into set three with a balanced attack, which featured clutch kills from Franklin and fellow seniors Ainara Fernandes and Larissa Seger. Seger would get the final kill of a 25-22 set victory to put Southern up 2-1 in the match.
Determined to send the match to a fifth set, the Bruins raced out to a 12-4 lead and never looked back. They controlled set four from the beginning, and its kills leader Brooke Gilleland put down the winning point.
In the winner-take-all fifth set, the teams went back-and-forth early, but two kills from Bulmahn with an ace from the McCordsville, Ind., native had the Salukis up 8-5 as the teams switched sides.Â
Southern quickly lost momentum, however, as the Bruins scored five in a row to. take an 11-10 lead. Outside of Seger, Southern's offense stalled while Gilleland collected five kills and powered Belmont to the 15-12 win in set five, outlasting the Salukis and taking the key Valley matchup.
"Today is an example of two teams who just battled it out to the end, and at the end of the day they came up with some big-time digs and blocks that sealed the deal for them in the 5th set," Head Coach Brittany Harry said. "After the crossover switch, we just couldn't put together any runs."
Franklin and Sulish each finished with 16 kills, while Bulmahn had 12 kills and 13 digs to tally a double-double.
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois will look to keep its Missouri Valley Conference Tournament hopes alive when it travels to Indiana State on Friday, Nov. 14.
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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The teams were separated by one game in the conference standings heading into the night, with the Bruins' victory in Nashville being the difference.
Belmont came out firing in set one, and an early 5-0 run helped them cruise to a 1-0 lead in the match, winning the frame 25-18.
The Salukis got the energy back in Davies Gym with a ferocious effort in set two, screaming out to a 4-0 advantage and forcing two early Belmont timeouts.
The senior outside hitters were the driving force of Southern's offense. Seven of Southern's first nine points of set two were kills from Kelly Franklin and Annabelle Sulish.
Belmont kept set two close, but SIU held the lead throughout, and Cecilia Bulmahn tallied two kills late and teamed up with Eva Krakowski for the set-clinching point.
The Salukis continued their great offensive play into set three with a balanced attack, which featured clutch kills from Franklin and fellow seniors Ainara Fernandes and Larissa Seger. Seger would get the final kill of a 25-22 set victory to put Southern up 2-1 in the match.
Determined to send the match to a fifth set, the Bruins raced out to a 12-4 lead and never looked back. They controlled set four from the beginning, and its kills leader Brooke Gilleland put down the winning point.
In the winner-take-all fifth set, the teams went back-and-forth early, but two kills from Bulmahn with an ace from the McCordsville, Ind., native had the Salukis up 8-5 as the teams switched sides.Â
Southern quickly lost momentum, however, as the Bruins scored five in a row to. take an 11-10 lead. Outside of Seger, Southern's offense stalled while Gilleland collected five kills and powered Belmont to the 15-12 win in set five, outlasting the Salukis and taking the key Valley matchup.
"Today is an example of two teams who just battled it out to the end, and at the end of the day they came up with some big-time digs and blocks that sealed the deal for them in the 5th set," Head Coach Brittany Harry said. "After the crossover switch, we just couldn't put together any runs."
Franklin and Sulish each finished with 16 kills, while Bulmahn had 12 kills and 13 digs to tally a double-double.
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois will look to keep its Missouri Valley Conference Tournament hopes alive when it travels to Indiana State on Friday, Nov. 14.
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
BEL
SIU
Kills
60
61
Errors
19
26
Attempts
146
162
Hitting %
.281
.216
Points
82.0
72.0
Assists
57
54
Aces
9
4
Blocks
13
7
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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