Friday, September 5
Carbondale, IL
10 AM
Southern Illinois University
2-2,0-0MVC
2
vs
3
New Mexico State
3-1,0-0CUSA
1
2
3
4
5
F
New Mexico St.
25
18
25
21
15
3
Southern Ill.
23
25
23
25
11
2
Photo by: Makayla Ward
Recap | Volleyball salvages doubleheader with sweep of Kansas City
09/05/2025 | 8:55:00 | Women's Volleyball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois Volleyball went 1-1 in Friday's doubleheader at the Saluki Bash, sweeping Kansas City in the second match after dropping the opener to New Mexico State.
Head Coach Brittany Harry was complimentary of her team's response after a tough loss earlier in the day.
"Really proud of our kids to finally pull out a three-set win after a really long match with New Mexico State this morning."
Match 1: New Mexico State 3, Southern Illinois 2
The Salukis jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead in set one, but the Aggies eventually found their footing and created an intense back-and-forth contest.
With the match tied at 23, NMSU was able to squeeze out the victory by collecting the final two points, capped off by a service ace from Maggie Lightheart.
SIU responded with a vengeance in set two, taking a quick 8-1 lead and never looking back.
Freshman Addison Kerr highlighted a massive day with a set-clinching dump shot to even the match up at one. The Champaign, Ill., native led the Salukis with 27 assists against New Mexico State, an early career-high.
Set three mirrored set one in many ways, with the two teams battling it out until the end before New Mexico State edged out SIU to win its second set.
The Aggies seemed poised to clinch the match in set four with a narrow 21-19 lead late, but three straight kills from Larissa Seger fueled a 6-0 run from the Salukis to send the match to a fifth set for the fourth time in Southern's young season.
With all the momentum on the home side, New Mexico State controlled the fifth set from the beginning, getting out to an 11-5 lead and cruising to a set five win in which it never trailed.
Match 2: Southern Illinois 3, Kansas City 0
Southern never trailed in set one, racing out to a quick 1-0 match lead courtesy of an 11-point set victory.
Kansas City responded with a more competitive second set, as Southern would not take its first lead until back-to-back kills from Seger, making the score 18-17 in favor of the Salukis, a lead they would never relinquish.
SIU took advantage of timely Roos' errors in set three, paving the way for a third-set victory and their first sweep of the season.
Senior Annabelle Sulish got back on track with 16 kills in three sets, and her combination with Seger was key on offense for Harry's squad.
"We had a great offensive night against hitting at 29.1% as a team, which is a really great hitting percentage, and our side-out percentage also kept us in the match most of the night," Harry said. "AB had a great night, hitting 39.4% which is just lights out for an outside. Larissa is also a complete force at the net, making her presence known, which opened up the pins big time for us."
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois will look to tack on its second winning weekend in a row when it faces Eastern Illinois Saturday at 3 p.m. to close out the Saluki Bash. Follow the matches on 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.
Head Coach Brittany Harry was complimentary of her team's response after a tough loss earlier in the day.
"Really proud of our kids to finally pull out a three-set win after a really long match with New Mexico State this morning."
Match 1: New Mexico State 3, Southern Illinois 2
The Salukis jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead in set one, but the Aggies eventually found their footing and created an intense back-and-forth contest.
With the match tied at 23, NMSU was able to squeeze out the victory by collecting the final two points, capped off by a service ace from Maggie Lightheart.
SIU responded with a vengeance in set two, taking a quick 8-1 lead and never looking back.
Freshman Addison Kerr highlighted a massive day with a set-clinching dump shot to even the match up at one. The Champaign, Ill., native led the Salukis with 27 assists against New Mexico State, an early career-high.
Set three mirrored set one in many ways, with the two teams battling it out until the end before New Mexico State edged out SIU to win its second set.
The Aggies seemed poised to clinch the match in set four with a narrow 21-19 lead late, but three straight kills from Larissa Seger fueled a 6-0 run from the Salukis to send the match to a fifth set for the fourth time in Southern's young season.
With all the momentum on the home side, New Mexico State controlled the fifth set from the beginning, getting out to an 11-5 lead and cruising to a set five win in which it never trailed.
Match 2: Southern Illinois 3, Kansas City 0
Southern never trailed in set one, racing out to a quick 1-0 match lead courtesy of an 11-point set victory.
Kansas City responded with a more competitive second set, as Southern would not take its first lead until back-to-back kills from Seger, making the score 18-17 in favor of the Salukis, a lead they would never relinquish.
SIU took advantage of timely Roos' errors in set three, paving the way for a third-set victory and their first sweep of the season.
Senior Annabelle Sulish got back on track with 16 kills in three sets, and her combination with Seger was key on offense for Harry's squad.
"We had a great offensive night against hitting at 29.1% as a team, which is a really great hitting percentage, and our side-out percentage also kept us in the match most of the night," Harry said. "AB had a great night, hitting 39.4% which is just lights out for an outside. Larissa is also a complete force at the net, making her presence known, which opened up the pins big time for us."
UP NEXT
Southern Illinois will look to tack on its second winning weekend in a row when it faces Eastern Illinois Saturday at 3 p.m. to close out the Saluki Bash. Follow the matches on 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.
Team Stats
NMSU
SIU
Kills
62
63
Errors
19
26
Attempts
178
184
Hitting %
.242
.201
Points
77.0
80.0
Assists
56
58
Aces
6
10
Blocks
9
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
4
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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