Preview | Volleyball closes non-con slate with trip to SEC country

Calendar

Sep 18

7 PM

Women's Volleyball

Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR

Sep 19

4 PM

Women's Volleyball

Arkansas State

Fayetteville, AR

Sep 20

11 AM

Women's Volleyball

North Dakota State

Fayetteville, AR

Sep 26

6 PM

Women's Volleyball

Murray State

Murray, KY

Sep 27

5 PM

Women's Volleyball

Evansville

Carbondale, IL

Oct 1

6 PM

Women's Volleyball

Memphis

Memphis, TN

Oct 3

6 PM

Women's Volleyball

Indiana State

Carbondale, IL

Oct 4

5 PM

Women's Volleyball

Belmont

Nashville, TN

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball heads to Fayetteville, Ark., on Thursday to wrap its non-conference slate with the Razorback Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE (All times Central):

Thursday: at Arkansas, 7 p.m., Live Stats | Watch
Friday: vs. Arkansas State, 4 p.m., Live Stats
Saturday: vs. North Dakota State, 11 a.m., Live Stats

SERIES HISTORY:

The Salukis and Razorbacks have played just once, with the Razorbacks claiming a victory on Oct. 30, 2000.
Southern is just 3-12 against Arkansas State in the series' history, the last match a 3-0 Red Wolves sweep on Sept. 8, 2023.
Southern Illinois will face North Dakota State in volleyball for the first time.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Salukis went 1-2 at the Golden Grizzly Invite. They won their first match against Oakland by a tally of 3-1, but lost to Eastern Michigan by the same score and were swept by Xavier.
Kelly Franklin was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Golden Grizzly Invite. She set a season-high 16 kills in Friday's match against Eastern Michigan, and posted a hit percentage of .455 Saturday against Xavier.

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.
Sophomore Eva Krakowski returns after a big freshman campaign in the middle. She won the MVC's freshman of the week on Sept. 16, 2024, after 17 kills (41.2%) and eight blocks at UT Martin. Earlier this season, the Roselle, Ill., native would match that career high in blocks versus Eastern Illinois.
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, 2024, ranked ninth for the most in a four-set match in the MVC. In 2025's season-opening win over Sam Houston, she set her career high in kills with 23. She is currently ninth in The Valley in kills per set (3.09), and eighth in total kills (102).
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 third in The Valley in total assists (263) and fifth in assists per set (6.74). She also has 16 aces, which ranks fourth in The Valley.
Freshman setter Addison Kerr had the best game of her young freshman career in a loss to New Mexico State, tallying 27 assists.
As a team, Southern Illinois currently sits third in The Valley with a .215 hitting percentage and is second in service aces (68, 1.74 per set).
Larissa Seger set a career-high with 15 kills against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 6, and currently ranks second in the MVC in hitting percentage (.451). The mark ranks 13th in the NCAA. Seger has also impressed from the service line with 17 aces, ranking third in The Valley. She leads The Valley with 44 total blocks and is third with 1.13 blocks per set. (27th in NCAA)
Jillian Shaneyfelt is tied for fifth in the MVC with 136 digs, and is seventh in digs per set with 3.68.
Cecilia Bulmahn is eighth in the MVC with 110 digs.
Southern had 10 aces in the four-set win over Oakland, which is 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.

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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