The SIU volleyball team (12-7, 5-2 MVC) hosted MVC’s newest conference team, Belmont (7-14, 3-5 MVC), on Friday night in Davies Gym. The Dawgs took down the Bruins in four sets to earn the season sweep over Belmont.

The Salukis were highlighted on offense by performances from senior Nataly Garcia, leading in kills with 22, and freshman Kelly Franklin, who led the team in Aces with four. Sophomore Anna Jaworski also had herself a night with 56 total assists.

The Dawgs defended themselves tonight through freshman Claudia Bobb, who had 18 total digs on the night and freshman Brinley Burdette and Anabelle Sulish, who tied for the lead in blocks with five each.

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The Bruins came out hot with a 5-0 lead in set one, but the Dawgs inched back right away to tie things up at 13 all. The Salukis would take their first lead of the set after a service ace by Senior Bailey Neuberger made it 16-15. A back and forth affair made it tied at 18 all, but five points in a row for SIU helped the offense seal the deal at a 25-21 final score.

Another fast start for Belmont got them up 4-2 in set two, but the Salukis took seven of the next eight points to make it 9-5. Back-and-forth for a while, the Bruins would retake the lead at 13-12, and things were as tight as they could be for a while.

The Dawgs would go on a late run and put the Bruins on their set point at 24-21. But a couple errors opened the door for Belmont to make it close once again. They did just that last the 25 point mark. Both teams traded away as many points as they could, until Belmont ended things with a 33-31 final score in set two, evening things up.

A close one to start set three led to going on a 5-1 run to take a 9-7 lead. Some aces helped helped SIU gain the lead back at 12-11. And it was neck and neck from there. With SIU down 22-21, the Dawgs would take four of the next 5 points to close the set out at 25-23 for the 2-1 lead.

Perhaps feeling less closer this set, the Salukis would take an 8-5 lead and a 7-11 lead. The Bruins would earn the next three in a row, but the next 8 in a row after this to make it a 19-12. With a start to finish win in set 4 at 25-20, the Dawgs would come up with their third conference in a row, for their twelfth win of the season.

The Salukis will continue their five game homestead with game two of Homecoming Weekend Saturday night with a 5 pm Start against Murray State in Davies Gym.

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

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