Salukis Sweep Sycamores, Open Conference Play Undefeated

Saturday, September 26

Terre Haute, IN

5 PM

Southern Illinois University

8-6,2-0MVC

Indiana State

6-7,0-2MVC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Southern Ill.	25	25	27	3
Indiana St.	19	23	25	0

The team breaks down a huddle in warmups.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Captain Jillian Shaneyfelt meets with the referees and opposing captains prior to the match.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Alexandria Arrington attacks a ball in warmups.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

The team stands together during the national anthem.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

The coaching staff stands next to each other during the national anthem.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

The team watches on during opposing introductions.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Ella Swansiger and Chloe Anderson go up for a block.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Lillian Dempkey prepares to serve a ball.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Chloe Anderson and Natalie Vance block a ball.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

The bench does some bench presses with their players.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Jillian Shaneyfelt dribbles the ball prior to her serve as the bench cheers her on.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Ella McFarland dribbles the ball prior to her serve.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Ella Swasniger and Chloe Anderson go up for a block.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Beatriz Piaia swings her arm back as she attacks a ball.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Ella Swansiger swings her arm back as she prepares for an attack.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Beatriz Piaia serves a ball in the match.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Head Coach Brittany Harry talks to her team in between sets.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

McKenzie Moeller and Beatriz Piaia go up for a block.

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

Photo by: Corey Crombar

09/26/2026 | 9:00:00 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Corey Crombar, SIUSalukis.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Saluki Women's Volleyball team looked to continue their positive momentum during their match against the Indiana State Sycamores on Saturday at ISU Arena.

Coming off a five set win in Evansville yesterday, the Salukis made the trip north to Indiana State University for a showdown with the Sycamores. The Dawgs had another very strong offensive showing, which propelled them to a sweep over the Sycamores on Saturday.

Set one was the most dominant set for SIU. Despite playing a five set match less than 24 hours ago, traveling two hours north, and jumping an hour forward, the Salukis looked ready to play their brand of volleyball. The Dawgs came out swinging, literally. The first set saw the Salukis tally 13 kills on 27 total attacks, with only two attack errors, for a whopping 0.407 hitting percentage. The Sycamores, on the other hand, had many attacking miscues. Indiana State recorded 12 kills on 42 total attacks, but they racked up 9 attack errors in set one - more errors than SIU had all match. A kill from Ella Swansiger, off an assist from Ella McFarland, sealed the set for the Dawgs, 25-19.

The second set, and remainder of the match, saw a more even contest. The Sycamores wanted to get the bad taste of set one out of their mouths, while Southern wanted to extend their lead to two sets. Set two had a much more contested offensive performance, with defensive presences from both teams. The second set also saw SIU's only service ace of the match - a change of pace from last night's 15 service aces against Evansville. The last nine points of set two alternated, but it was Southern who took the advantage and the set. A block from Chloe Anderson and Ella McFarland sealed the nail-biting second set, 25-23.

The third and final set of the match saw Indiana State play their best volleyball yet, but the Dawgs answered with strong play of their own. Southern grew an early lead as they were up by a score of 15-8 at the technical timeout. A switch was flipped at that timeout for the Sycamores as they proceeded to go on a 7-2 scoring run, closing the gap to two points. They then proceeded to pound the attack, tying the set, and ultimately holding SIU at set point, 24-23. There was no quit in SIU tonight though. A block from Beatriz Piaia and Alexandria Arrington knotted the set at 24. Then, ISU's Corinne Knapp had an attack error and a kill back-to-back to bring the set to 25 apiece. A Sycamore service error then gave the Salukis a one-point lead, and the Salukis now held ISU at set point. True freshman Lillian Dempkey set a ball in the air to fellow setter Ella McFarland, who smashed a ball over the net to the Sycamore side to seal the deal. The Salukis took set three 27-25 and completed the sweep.

After the match, Head Coach Brittany Harry said, "You can't ask much more from your team than a sweep on the road. Offensively, we were a completely different team than were less than 24 hours ago. I love to see it because this morning at film, I challenged our kids to keep the ball in play and they absolutely nailed it. We talked about staying calm in rotations where ISU may go on some runs, we nailed that too even when we missed four serves in row at the end of the 2nd set. Really proud of the maturity to stay very resilient this weekend and bring a 2-0 conference start back to Carbondale."

UP NEXT
The Salukis will return home for the first time in a month as they take on the Beacons of Valparaiso at Davies Gym at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 2.

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.