By: Howard Woodard
It was a disappointing weekend at Davies Gym as the Salukis (8-8) lost both of its weekend matchups against Bradley and Illinois State. They were swept by the Braves on Friday night as they struggled to string points together, especially in the first two sets. Avery Parris led the way for SIU with just seven kills. The Dawgs battled with Bradley in the third set in an attempt to extend the game, but the Braves made better plays in the clutch, clinching their win with a 26-24 victory. Illinois State won its matchup over SIU in four sets the next day, joining their football team as Redbirds to best the Salukis on Saturday. The first set was close, but the Salukis couldn’t pull it out and fell 25-22. It marked 10 straight set losses for SIU dating back to the September 27 game against UNI. The Dawgs would break this streak in the second set with a late 7-0 run to knot the game at a set apiece. The Salukis beat themselves in the third set, as they lost 25-22 but had several service errors that the Redbirds capitalized on. They had 13 service errors on the day. Fundamental mistakes like those on serves and also receiving has plagued SIU recently, a major factor in the current four-game losing streak. The Salukis fought again in the fourth set, but once again, didn’t have enough to push it to a final set. Kelly Franklin and Annabelle Sulish had 15 and 14 kills, respectively. Ema Stermenska had 26 assists, and Anna Jaworski followed behind with 17. Jillian Shaneyfelt got some run as the libero and led the team with 14 digs. Sulish added 13 digs and Cecilia Bulmahn contributed 12. The Dawgs fell to 1-4 in the conference and will now head on the road for more Valley matchups this weekend starting with Valparaiso on Friday, October 11 at 6pm. Then the team will go to Chicago for a game against UIC on Saturday, October 12 at 5pm.
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