SIU Volleyball falls in second round of Missouri Valley Conference Tournament

By Cole Daily, Assistant Sports Editor|November 22, 2022

SIU volleyball coach Ed Allen gives a quick talk before the Salukis head into their next match. SIU would go on to win 3-2 in a comeback fashion against UT Martin during the Saluki Bash tournament on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021 at the Banterra Center at SIU.

The Salukis competed in the MVC tournament quarterfinals on Monday, November 21, against the Evansville Purple Aces. Heading into the matchup, SIU was seeded fourth while Evansville was seeded fifth.

The Salukis had success during the regular season against the Purple Aces, winning both previous matches with a respective five set win differential. However, the third time was not the charm for the Dawgs, as they lost in five sets.

The first set would fall in the favor of the Aces. Winning the first set was monumental for the team’s morale . They won the set 25-21.

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The second set was far more competitive, with SIU and Evansville trading blows. The Purple Aces would come out on top yet again, 26-24.

With their season on the line, this is when the Dawgs finally decided to put the hammer down. They won the third set by a whopping seven points, 25-18.

The third set seemed to regain some confidence for the Salukis, as they would emerge victorious during the fourth set as well. Evansville kept it close, but Southern Illinois would win 25-23.

It all came down to the fifth. Both teams’ seasons on the line. The evenly matched teams would duke it out for their chance at the semi-finals.

The Purple Aces would jump out to a strong lead quickly into the fifth set. Then, the Salukis made an impressive late push, which put Evansville fans right on the edge of their seats.

Evansville won the match, 16-14, putting an end to the Salukis’ season.

Junior Imani Hartfield led the team in kills against the Purple Aces with 17. Sophomore Anna Jaworski would have 52 assists in the game.

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Senior Bailey Neubeger would lead the team in digs for tonight’s matchup with 17. Freshman Claudia Bobb was not far behind with 16 digs.

This was the final game of the Salukis’ volleyball season. The Dawgs will surely have high expectations for the Fall 2023 season.

Assistant Sports Editor Cole Daily can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at cdaily_de

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