SIU volleyball (7-3) swept non-conference rival Southeast Missouri State (3-7) (25-19, 25-19, 25-15) with the Salukis’ leading hitter senior Taylor Pippen on the sidelines.

Coach Justin Ingram would not comment why Pippen sat out. 

Pippen’s replacement, junior McKenzie Dorris, tallied five kills on 11 attempts with zero attack errors.

The Salukis hit for a .321 attack efficiency as a team, after entering with a .244 efficiency this season.

Sophomore outside hitter Nellie Fredriksson led the Salukis with 26 attack attempts and 12 kills.

“[Sophomore setter] Meg [Viggars] gave me some really good sets tonight,” Fredriksson said. “It felt right to go up and hit it hard.”

On the defensive side of the net, the Salukis recorded 52 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Andrea Estrada had a team-high 22 digs. Ingram called her performance vacuum-esque. 

“I was reading the blocks really well,” Estrada said. “If you’re ready for them to tip it then you have to go for it.”

This week in practice, Ingram prepared his players for the tips SEMO would try to sneak past SIU blockers.

“We knew coming in the tips, the rolls coming off the blocks would be critical for us,” Ingram said. “It was important to set the tone early and let them know we could pick those up.”

The match against SEMO was the first of the season aired on ESPN3. All home games and Missouri Valley Conference games will be aired on ESPN3. Despite the opportunity for fans to watch online, Davies Gym was packed full. 

SIU plays Missouri in the Butler Invitational at 1 p.m. Friday in Indianapolis.

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @EvanJones_DE