Friday, September 5
Carbondale, IL
10 AM
Southern Illinois University
vs
New Mexico State
Nevaeh Laster
Preview | Southern set to host Saluki Bash beginning Friday
09/04/2025 | 3:32:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois' Women's Volleyball will host the 2025 Saluki Bash Friday, Sept. 5, in Carbondale, Ill. Eastern Illinois, Kansas City and New Mexico State make up the tournament's field.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
- Friday: vs. New Mexico State, 10 a.m.
- Friday: vs. Kansas City, 6 p.m.
- Saturday: vs. Eastern Illinois, 9 a.m.
SERIES HISTORY:
- The Salukis will play New Mexico State for the first time.
- Kansas City holds a 4-2 advantage over the Salukis, the last match a 3-1 SIU win on Sept. 8, 2007.Â
- Eastern Illinois has won the last four matches against Southern Illinois, narrowing the all-time series down to a 14-13 SIU advantage.
LAST TIME OUT:
- 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 went 2-1 at the Bearkat Invitational, with two comeback wins against host Sam Houston and Tulane. The Salukis were down 2-1 in both matches and came back to win in a fifth set.
- Larissa Seger and Annabelle Sulish were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Bearkat Invitational. Sulish set her career-high 23 kills in Friday's match at Sam Houston, and Seger had seven blocks in all three matches.
- Emma Lade had 40 assists in Friday's win over Sam Houston State, the most by a Saluki setter since Anna Jaworski had 51 assists on Nov. 16, 2022.
QUICK HITS:
- 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, 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 matches and get streaming information by visiting 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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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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