Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Friday, October 16
Murray, KY
5 PM
Southern Illinois University
9-10,3-4MVC
2
at
3
Murray State
3-17,1-7MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Ill. | 25 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 2 |
| Murray St. | 27 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Photo by: Corey Crombar
Salukis Come Up Short Against Racers
10/16/2026 | 8:49:00 | Women's Volleyball
MURRAY, Ky. - The Saluki Women's Volleyball team came up short in a five-set match against Murray State on Friday at Racer Arena.
The start to the match went about as poor as possible for the Salukis. Immediately falling down 8-0 is a situation no team ever wants to face, but was a reality for Southern. Despite the early deficit, the Dawgs fought back and managed to cut the deficit to two at the technical timeout. Out of the timeout, it was an absolute battle. Both teams were gunning for the first set victory and it showed in their play. Both teams were forces at the net and defensively not backing down. After being down 8-0 early, the Salukis managed to sneak away momentarily, holding the Racers at set point. But, it was the Racers who would even the set and then go on to take the next two points, giving them the 27-25 set victory.
Set two came around and a completely different Saluki squad hit the floor. It was SIU who got out to the early lead this time. The Salukis, on an Ella McFarland serving spree, jumped out to an astounding 14-0 lead. The Racers got their first point on a Saluki attack error. Even though they were on the board, the early deficit was too large to bounce back from. In the second set, the Racers had zero kills. Nine of the Racers' ten points came off Saluki attack or service errors. The lone point that did not come off an error was a service ace. The second set came to a close off a Beatriz Piaia kill. The Salukis took set two by a lopsided score of 25-10.
Set three had a similar storyline to set two. The Salukis did not jump out to another massive lead in set three, but were able to strang together streaks of dominant play, which was no match for the Racers. The Salukis had an absolutely dominant performance offensively in set three. The Salukis recorded 11 kills with 0 errors on 25 total attacks, for an impressive 0.440 hitting percentage. Southern played one of their cleanest sets this year in the third set. The Dawgs recorded only three errors, all being service errors. A kill by Natalie Vance from a Julia Laidig assist gave the Salukis the set, 25-15.
On the first rally of set four, senior libero Jillian Shaneyfelt hit the impressive career milestone of 1000 digs. Despite the milestone and momentum that came with it, the Racers answered with strong play. The set was evenly matched, with Murray State holding a narrow 15-13 lead at the technical timeout. From that moment forward, it was all Racers. Murray State forced Saluki errors and provided their own strong offensive play to counter the Salukis. Murray State ran away with set four, 25-19.
The fifth set was upon us and the stage was set. All the momentum at Racer Arena was in favor of the home side adn the Racers fed off that. The Salukis never got their footing in the set. Between a lack of communication, unforced errors, and the Racer capitalization of those errors, the fifth set was a forgettable one for SIU. An attack from Paige Brock ended the set by a score of 15-6, ultimately ending the match in favor of the Racers.
After the defeat, Head Coach Brittany Harry said, "It takes three sets to win a volleyball match. We got off to about as bad of a start as you can down 8-0 in the first set…but managed to compete and have a set point. We had all the momentum going into the 2nd and 3rd sets but again, it takes three sets to win. We are making errors at really critical moments of the match. Maybe it's our youth, maybe there is some fear of failure in there, but as a coach it's really tough seeing your kids execute all week in practice and doubt themselves on the court Friday night. I still believe in this team and we have shown that we are capable of playing with anybody. Hats off to Murray, they were on the same roller coaster we were with the ups and the downs, but playing at home with the momentum definitely played a factor in the fifth set. We have to have a short-term memory of this one, because we are right back at it tomorrow versus a really good Bradley squad."
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to Davies Gym Saturday for a battle with the Bradley Braves at 5 p.m.
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.
The start to the match went about as poor as possible for the Salukis. Immediately falling down 8-0 is a situation no team ever wants to face, but was a reality for Southern. Despite the early deficit, the Dawgs fought back and managed to cut the deficit to two at the technical timeout. Out of the timeout, it was an absolute battle. Both teams were gunning for the first set victory and it showed in their play. Both teams were forces at the net and defensively not backing down. After being down 8-0 early, the Salukis managed to sneak away momentarily, holding the Racers at set point. But, it was the Racers who would even the set and then go on to take the next two points, giving them the 27-25 set victory.
Set two came around and a completely different Saluki squad hit the floor. It was SIU who got out to the early lead this time. The Salukis, on an Ella McFarland serving spree, jumped out to an astounding 14-0 lead. The Racers got their first point on a Saluki attack error. Even though they were on the board, the early deficit was too large to bounce back from. In the second set, the Racers had zero kills. Nine of the Racers' ten points came off Saluki attack or service errors. The lone point that did not come off an error was a service ace. The second set came to a close off a Beatriz Piaia kill. The Salukis took set two by a lopsided score of 25-10.
Set three had a similar storyline to set two. The Salukis did not jump out to another massive lead in set three, but were able to strang together streaks of dominant play, which was no match for the Racers. The Salukis had an absolutely dominant performance offensively in set three. The Salukis recorded 11 kills with 0 errors on 25 total attacks, for an impressive 0.440 hitting percentage. Southern played one of their cleanest sets this year in the third set. The Dawgs recorded only three errors, all being service errors. A kill by Natalie Vance from a Julia Laidig assist gave the Salukis the set, 25-15.
On the first rally of set four, senior libero Jillian Shaneyfelt hit the impressive career milestone of 1000 digs. Despite the milestone and momentum that came with it, the Racers answered with strong play. The set was evenly matched, with Murray State holding a narrow 15-13 lead at the technical timeout. From that moment forward, it was all Racers. Murray State forced Saluki errors and provided their own strong offensive play to counter the Salukis. Murray State ran away with set four, 25-19.
The fifth set was upon us and the stage was set. All the momentum at Racer Arena was in favor of the home side adn the Racers fed off that. The Salukis never got their footing in the set. Between a lack of communication, unforced errors, and the Racer capitalization of those errors, the fifth set was a forgettable one for SIU. An attack from Paige Brock ended the set by a score of 15-6, ultimately ending the match in favor of the Racers.
After the defeat, Head Coach Brittany Harry said, "It takes three sets to win a volleyball match. We got off to about as bad of a start as you can down 8-0 in the first set…but managed to compete and have a set point. We had all the momentum going into the 2nd and 3rd sets but again, it takes three sets to win. We are making errors at really critical moments of the match. Maybe it's our youth, maybe there is some fear of failure in there, but as a coach it's really tough seeing your kids execute all week in practice and doubt themselves on the court Friday night. I still believe in this team and we have shown that we are capable of playing with anybody. Hats off to Murray, they were on the same roller coaster we were with the ups and the downs, but playing at home with the momentum definitely played a factor in the fifth set. We have to have a short-term memory of this one, because we are right back at it tomorrow versus a really good Bradley squad."
UP NEXT
The Salukis return to Davies Gym Saturday for a battle with the Bradley Braves at 5 p.m.
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
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S/OP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OP
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
SIU
MUR
Kills
56
44
Errors
27
30
Attempts
155
148
Hitting %
.187
.095
Points
79.0
59.0
Assists
50
41
Aces
10
5
Blocks
13
10
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
3
Blocks
5
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Wednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 21