Southern brings home second Valley win against Sycamores in four sets
The team reacts to Alex Washington, middle, as she comes up with a score for SIU vs. EIU. SIU would later on drop their early 2-0 lead and fall to EIU 3-2 on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021 during the Saluki Invitational at the Banterra Center at SIU.
Saturday Sept. 8, the Salukis traveled to Indiana State, where they took down the Sycamores in a four-set match.
The Dawgs got an early 5-0 lead against the Sycamores in the first match and held the lead for the remainder of the set, ending with a 1-0 finish for the Salukis.
At the beginning of the second set, the Sycamores got an early 4-0 lead, much like the Salukis in the first. The second set was full of runs, the longest being by the Salukis with seven straight points. Halfway through the second set, Indiana State took the lead. This didn’t last long thanks to three straight kills from senior Nataly Garcia, to make the Salukis 2-0.
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The Sycamores came back in the third set to make the score 2-1. Although the Salukis gave the third set to Indiana State, they were hitting .340, which was their highest of the night.
In the fourth set, the Salukis went up 17-8 and held that throughout the set, taking the 3-1 win over the Sycamores.
The Salukis were led by Garcia who had 26 kills and four blocks. Junior Tatum Tornatta had 19 kills, and three blocks, junior Imani Hartfield had 14 kills and two blocks, and freshman Ceci Bulmahn who had 12 kills and one ace.
Southern Illinois finished the match with a total of 74 kills, 89 points, and 73 assists.
The Salukis will host the Belmont Bruins in Davies gym, Friday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m with hopes to continue their streak of Valley wins.
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Sports reporter Joei Younker can be reached at [email protected].
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