SIU Volleyball (5-16, 0-8 MVC) lost their match against the Missouri State Bears (14-6, 5-3 MVC) early Saturday night in four sets. The loss marks the 11th straight after the 5-5 start to the season.

The Salukis were highlighted by performances from senior defensive specialist Katy Kluge, who led the Salukis with 19 digs on the night, and junior outside hitter Nataly Garcia, who led the Salukis in kills with 11.

Also worth noting was freshman setter Anna Jaworski, who had another tremendous night for assists with totaling 39, tied for the lead in aces with 2, and tallied two blocks for herself as well. Sophomore middle hitter Margherita Giani also led the Salukis in blocks with three and tallied two aces for herself as well.

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The Salukis battled an extremely competitive first set against the Bears, but finally pulled away with a close 25-21 win in set 1. Neither team ever led the set by more than 4 points throughout.

The Bears rallied and took set two by the same score, 25-21. Missouri State led almost all of the way besides the first point that went to SIU. A late stretch going 5-1 for points got SIU within 3 points at 23-20, but Missouri closed things out 3 points later. 

The third set also went to the Bears by a score of 25-18. SIU’s 8-4 start was answered by a 16-5 run by Missouri State to take the lead at 20-13. The Bears managed to close the set out comfortably and kept their lead throughout the set.

Set four was competitive throughout most, with SIU and MSU matching scores at 7-7, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 14-14, and 15-15 at certain points in the match. At a score of 18-17, MSU managed another clutch run of 5 point run that helped notch the set win at 25-19 and ultimately the match win as well.

The Salukis will look to end their 11-game losing streak by traveling to Chicago to face Loyola University on Friday Oct 22 with a 6 p.m start time.

Sports reporter Joseph Bernard can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter @Jojobernard2001. 

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