Saluki Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller over SEMO

By Will Becque, siusalukis.com

CARBONDALE, IL – The Southern Illinois volleyball team used a balanced offensive attack and a stout defense to defeat the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 15-13) Tuesday inside SIU Arena.

The win for the Salukis marked the first under first-year head coach Kari Thompson. Southern rallied after a first set defeat to take set two, 25-21, and overcame a third set loss by hitting .500 in set four to force a decisive fifth set. SIU trailed 5-1 in the fifth frame, but wasn’t to be denied, as they tied the score, 7-7, and went on to win, 15-13.

“It’s nice to get a win so that the team can see all their hard work is paying off,” said Thompson. “Its been a tough preseason and we knew there weren’t going to be any easy ones, but to get a win now gives us the belief that we can put it all together.”

Four Salukis finished with double-digit kills led by Abby Barrow’s second career double-double. The Metamora, Ill. native did it all for the Salukis, as she finished with 16 kills, 12 digs and a career-best four service aces. Her eighth kill of the match, which came in the third set, was the 900th of her career.

“It felt like we just won a championship because that’s how much it meant to us,” said Barrow. “We’ve been working so hard and things just haven’t gone our way. Honestly, its a relief. This win gives us a lot of confidence as a team because we know we’re good.”

Maggie Nedoma tallied 13 kills on 32 attempts, which marked her fourth match in her last five that the Brook Park, Ohio native has recorded at least 10 kills. Nellie Fredriksson hit. 364 and had 10 kills, while Kolby Meeks hit a career-high .625, as she put down 10 kills on 16 attempts without a hitting error. It marked the fifth time in her career that the Norcross, Ga. native has recorded at least 10 attacks without committing an error.

Alayna Martin dished out 32 assists to go along with three digs, while Rachel Maguire added a career-best 29 assists and 10 digs for her first career double-double.

The Salukis got out to a quick start in set one, as they pulled ahead 5-1 with Patience Brown serving. A kill by Andrea Estrada held SIU’s lead at five, 9-4, but the Redhawks began to chip away. SEMO took its first lead of the set, 19-18, on a kill by Mikayla Kuhlmann. It was a lead that the Redhawks never relinquished.

“After the first set we knew we had to settle down and play a little bit better defense against their middle attack,” said Thompson. “(SEMO) also changed a little bit of what they were doing, compared to what we saw on film.”

Back-to-back aces by Barrow broke a 14-14 tie in set two and gave Southern a four-point cushion, 18-14. The Redhawks got to within one, 20-19, but back-to-back kills by Nedoma pushed Southern’s advantage to three (22-19). SEMO again cut the deficit down to one, 22-21, but a kill by Nedoma coupled with a solo block by Meeks and an ace by Brown propelled Southern to a 25-21 set two win.

The Redhawks hit .333 to take set three, 25-21 and go ahead, 2-1.

“Going into the fourth set, we needed to make sure we stuck with our system of volleyball,” said Thompson. “In the third set, we had a lot of people making changes that weren’t part of our game plan. So we went back to our plan in the fourth set and made some defensive plays, which, in turn, sparked our offense.”

Southern recorded an astounding 20 kills and hit an even .500 in set four. The Saluki defense, meanwhile, tallied four blocks to hold SEMO to a .235 hitting percentage and force a decisive fifth set.

In the fifth set, Southern rallied from an early 5-1 hole to take its first lead at 10-9. SEMO finally wrestled the lead back from SIU at 13-12, but a sideout kill by Meeks and a kill by Barrow gave Southern set and match point. An attack error by the Redhawks on the ensuing serve sealed the victory for the Salukis.

The Salukis hit a season-best .311 and recorded 11.0 blocks, which marked the second time in their last four matches that Southern has recorded 10-plus blocks.

SIU will next travel to the Notre Dame Shamrock Invitational, beginning Friday, Sept. 15. Southern will take on Central Michigan on Friday, Sept. 15, before tangling with Notre Dame (12:30 p.m.) and Michigan State (4:30 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 16.