Friday, September 26
Murray, KY
6 PM
Southern Illinois University
at
Murray State
Meghan Anderson
Salukis face Racers, Purple Aces to open Valley play
09/25/2025 | 4:53:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball begins conference play Friday, Sept. 26, with a trip to Murray State. The Salukis will then come home to take on Evansville Saturday.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
- Friday: at Murray State, 6 p.m., Live Stats | Watch
- Saturday: vs. Evansville, 5 p.m., Live Stats | Watch
SERIES HISTORY:
- Southern Illinois holds a firm lead in the all-time series against Murray State with a 20-6 advantage. The Racers took the 2024 match in Carbondale in five sets.
- The Salukis have a 49-20 lead over Evansville in the all-time series, but the Purple Aces won in 2024, taking the match in five sets.
LAST TIME OUT:
- The Salukis went 1-2 at the Razorback Invitational. Southern dropped the opener to Arkansas and lost in four to Arkansas State before coming back to defeat North Dakota State in four sets.
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. Earlier this season, the Roselle, Ill., native would match her career-high with eight blocks versus Eastern Illinois. She is tied for seventh in the MVC with 36 total blocks.
- Senior outside hitter Annabelle Sulish returns after being the team's most productive offensive player in 2024. In 2025's season-opening win over Sam Houston, she set her career high in kills with 23. She is currently 10th in The Valley in kills per set (3.02) and eighth in total kills (130).
- 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 (323) and fifth in assists per set (6.46). She also has 18 aces, which ranks third 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 is second in The Valley with 74 service aces.
- 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 (.429). The mark ranks 24th in the NCAA. Seger has also impressed from the service line with 17 aces, tied for fourth in The Valley. She is fourth in The Valley with 45 total blocks and is third with 1.05 blocks per set.
- Jillian Shaneyfelt is fourth in the MVC with 195 digs, and is sixth in digs per set with 4.06.
- Cecilia Bulmahn is ninth in the MVC with 144 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.
Players Mentioned
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