Southern Swept by Host Austin Peay

Saturday, September 19

Clarksville, TN

2 PM

Southern Illinois University

6-6,0-0MVC

Austin Peay

8-5,0-0UAC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Southern Ill.	20	26	15	0
Austin Peay	25	28	25	3

Chloe Anderson and Ella Swansiger go up for a block on an opposing attack.

Choe Anderson and Ella Swansiger go up for a block on an opposing attack.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

09/19/2026 | 6:01:00 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Corey Crombar, SIUSalukis.com

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Saluki Women's Volleyball team fell in three sets to the host Austin Peay Governors on Saturday afternoon at Winfield Dunn Center.

Coming off a reverse sweep by Gardner-Webb, the Salukis looked to get that bad taste out of their mouths as they geared up to face the Austin Peay Governors. The Salukis, without team kills leader McKenzie Moeller, knew it was not going to be an easy battle. The Dawgs fought, but ultimately were swept this afternoon.

The Salukis had a promising start to the first set. The set was close, but the Dawgs looked ready to play. It was errors that plagued Southern in the first set. The Salukis had gotten to a three-point lead, with the score sitting at 17-14. Then, the Governors went on an 11-3 run to close out the set. Seven of the Governors' eleven points came off Saluki errors. Set one ended on an attack error by SIU, and he Governors won set one 25-20.

For the Salukis, set two had an ideal start. Southern quickly jumped out to a ten-point lead, with the score being 16-6. From that moment on, it was all Governors. Austin Peay stormed back and looked hungrier to win the set. They went on a 22-10 scoring run and took the set 28-26, the fourth time this weekend a set has gone over the twenty-five point mark for the Salukis. The final point came off a Saluki attack error.

The Salukis were incredibly disappointed after the strenuous and emotional second set. After coming off a reverse sweep loss yesterday and falling victim to two sweeps last weekend at the Hawkeye Invitational, the Salukis looked to avoid that fate again. But, it was set three where the Governors played their best volleyball. The Salukis never got too far behind on the scoreboard, but the Governors did run away with the set on the back of their capitalization on Saluki errors. At 3:50 p.m., an attack error from SIU gave Austin Peay the third and final set, 25-15. Each of the sets from today's match ended on a Saluki attacking error.

After the match, Head Coach Brittany Harry said, "Today was a tough day. We have faced a lot of adversity in the last couple of weeks. Today was another hurdle with Kenzie being out of commission for us due to her collision with the scorers table in yesterday's match with Gardner-Webb. We had to go to our bench and even though we showed some good life in the 2nd set, we got in sub trouble and had kids playing out of their normal positions and we weren't able to close it out. The sub trouble was a factor in every set today, but that can't be an excuse for losing a match. We just have to keep using these challenges as learning opportunities and our bench has to be better."

This match wrapped up the Governors Classic and non-conference slate. Beatriz Piaia and Jillian Shaneyfelt were both named to the Governors Classic all-tournament team for their performances over the three matches.

NON-CONFERENCE WRAP-UP
The Salukis sit at an even 6-6 (.500) after their twelve non-conference matches. The record breakdown is as follows:
3-0 (1.000) @ East Texas A&M's Lion Invitational
2-1 (.667) @ SIU's Saluki Bash
0-3 (.000) @ Iowa's Hawkeye Invitational
1-2 (.333) @ Austin Peay's Governors Classic
2-1 (.667) Home Record
1-2 (.333) Away Record
3-3 (.500) Neutral Record

SALUKI STATISTIC LEADERS
Kills: Ella Swansiger, 12
Aces: Isabella Del Real & Lillian Dempkey, 2
Blocks: Ella Swansiger, 4
Assists: Lillian Dempkey,15
Digs: Jillian Shaneyfelt, 11

UP NEXT
The Salukis open Missouri Valley Conference play on Friday, September 25 for a battle with the Evansville Purple Aces at 6 p.m. at the Meeks Family Fieldhouse in Evansville, Indiana.

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.