Southern Reverse Swept by UIC

Saturday, October 3

Carbondale, IL

5 PM

Southern Illinois University

9-7,3-1MVC

UIC

5-11,1-3MVC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
UIC	22	20	25	25	15	3
Southern Ill.	25	25	21	21	13	2

The bench does a celebration after a point.

Alexandria Arrington and Ella McFarland do a chest bump.

Beatriz Piaia and Ella Swansiger go up for a block.

Jillian Shaneyfelt reaches out after setting a ball.

Alexandria Arrington screams in celebration.

The team claps as the opposing team is introduced.

McKenzie Moeller high fives her teammates as her name is announced.

Alexandria Arrington high fives her teammates and drops her ball as her name is announced.

Beatriz Piaia high fives her teammates as her name is announced.

Ella Swansiger high fives her teammates as her name is announced.

Valentina Zevallos high fives her teammates as her name is announced.

Jillian Shaneyfelt high fives her teammates after her name is announced.

The team high fives the opponent prior to the match.

The team huddles one last time before the match.

McKenzie Moeller and Beatriz Piaia go up for a block.

The bench has some fun during a timeout.

Graduate Assistant Emma Lade gives instruction to freshman Lillian Dempkey.

10/03/2026 | 10:20:00 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Corey Crombar, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - After coming off a reverse sweep victory Friday against Valparaiso, the Saluki Women's Volleyball team faced the other end of the reverse sweep on Saturday against UIC at Davies Gym.

Set one had the Salukis feeling good. SIU came out looking fresh, energized, and pumped up after Friday's victory over Valparaiso. The energy in Davies Gym fed into this good vibe for the Salukis. You could see the positive energy in their play, as they were confident and composed. The big story of the Saluki success in set one was the UIC errors. UIC was not just making errors, but SIU was forcing them. Not only that, but the Salukis were also dominant on the offensive front. The last point came off a kill by Natalie Vance, giving the Salukis set one by a score of 25-22.

After sealing the first set, the Salukis looked to continue that good feeling into set two - and they did. Set two was even more dominant on the Saluki side. UIC looked to answer, but struggled to gain momentum. What really hurt the Flames in set two was a serving spree in the middle of the set by true freshman Lillian Dempkey. The Flames scored a few after the Salukis went on their six-point run, but were unable to ultimately steal the set. An Ella Swansiger kill, off the assist from Ella McFarland, sealed set two for SIU, 25-20.

Set three is where things took a turn. At this point, all momentum was in favor of the Salukis and it looked as if they were preparing to sweep the match. UIC had other plans. The set was close and truly was going both ways. What plagued the Salukis was the lack of scoring runs. During set three, the Salukis only had the lead once at 8-7. UIC went on a few scoring runs, but SIU answered with points of their own. Ultimately, the Dawgs were not able to string enough runs together to take the set. A service ace from libero Ava Young gave UIC set three, 25-21.

After their victory in set three, all momentum had shifted in favor of the Flames. This was also the first set where the Flames did not make any drastic changes to their starting lineup, as they had found some consistency and rhythm. Set four is where UIC played their best volleyball, and they took advantage of their strong play. The Salukis played gritty volleyball, but were no match for the Flames in set four, falling 25-21.

For the third time in their four conference matches, the Salukis were headed to a fifth and final set. The set started even, despite UIC having the momentum. The score was quickly level at 6-6. But, UIC then went on a scoring run, propelling them to a 10-6 lead. Things began to look bleak for the Salukis. With their backs against the wall, the Dawgs did not quit. They proceeded to go on a 7-3 run, tying the set at 13-13. Once again, the stage was set. All tied up in all aspects. Unfortunately for SIU, the final points of Saturday's match went to the Flames on back-to-back kills from UIC. Set five ended 15-13 in favor of the Flames.

Head Coach Brittany Harry said, "There has been a lot of emotion the last 24 hours. Going from the emotional high of the reverse sweep last night to being reverse swept tonight has definitely been a learning experience. UIC played a heck of a game and really fought for the momentum and didn't look back. We tried our best in the fifth set when we evened up the score at 13-13 but ultimately UIC manufactured the last two points to seal it. I think the biggest learn here is that (and this was something we talked about earlier today) being down 0-2 in sets doesn't mean anything in volleyball because It takes three set wins to close it out. Volleyball is such a game of momentum and our youth definitely shows when we get faced with some adversity. So, although a loss isn't what we wanted, we are going to take a heck of a lot of learning from tonight and just keep growing the experience of this young team because this team never quit and we fought together to the end."

UP NEXT
The Salukis will travel to the Music City as they take on the Belmont Bruins at 6 p.m. at Curb Event Center on Thursday, October 8.

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.