Friday, August 29
Huntsville, TX
10 AM
Southern Illinois University
at
Sam Houston
Addison Kerr
Preview | Volleyball opens 2025 season at Bearkat Invitational
08/28/2025 | 1:45:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois' Women's Volleyball begins the 2025 season at the Bearkat Invitational Friday, August 29, in Huntsville, Texas, hosted by Sam Houston. Along with the host Bearkats, the Salukis will also square off with Tulane and McNeese State.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
- Friday: at Sam Houston, 10 a.m.
- Friday: vs. Tulane, 7 p.m.
- Saturday: vs. McNeese State, 9 a.m.
SERIES HISTORY:
- The Salukis will play Sam Houston and McNeese State for the first time.
- Southern has a 2-1 lead in the all-time series against Tulane, with the last match being a 3-0 SIU sweep in New Orleans on Sept. 3, 2011.
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.
- The Salukis finished 10-19 (3-15 MVC) in 2024, placing 11th in The Valley and missing the conference tournament.
- Brittany Harry will coach her first regular-season game for Southern on Friday. The Champaign, Ill., native has a career record of 310-178, which includes a 26-5 season with a Lone Star Conference Championship at West Texas A&M in 2024.
- Harry takes over as the new head coach for a team returning eight players from the 2024 season: five outside hitters, two middle blockers, and one defensive specialist.
- Among the returners is Cecilia Bulmahn (McCordsville, Ind./Mt. Vernon H.S.), who ranked 10th in the Missouri Valley with 4.12 digs per set and was eighth in total digs (433). She had seven aces at UIC on Oct. 12, tied for second-highest in the MVC in a single match, and tied for first in a three-set match. The mark is also tied for eighth in school history. She also posted 34 digs vs Missouri State (9/19), tied for the fourth-most in school history.
- Returning in the middle are sophomore Eva Krakowski and senior Larissa Seger. Krakowski put together a strong true freshman season and was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Freshman of the Week on Sept. 16 after a season-high 17 kills (41.2%) and eight blocks (T-8th in MVC in a five-set match in 2024) in a 3-2 win at UT Martin (9/10). She would post eight blocks for a second time (T-10th in MVC in a four-set match) against SIUE (9/20). Seger is back after putting up 92 blocks, leading the Salukis and ranking ninth in the Missouri Valley at 0.88 blocks per set.
- Senior outside hitter Annabelle Sulish returns as the team's most productive offensive player in 2024. She played in all 29 matches and 113 sets, continuing her streak of appearing in every possible match during her college career. She led the Salukis in kills (343) and points (389.0), and added 291 digs, 25 aces and 37 blocks to her ledger. Her four aces against Idaho on Aug. 31 ranked ninth for the most in a four-set match in the MVC.
Follow the tournament with Live Stats, or visit the Tournament Central page.
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.
Players Mentioned
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