The SIU volleyball team walked into Banterra Center for the first home matches of new Head Coach Brittany Harry’s tenure over the weekend, but they walked away with more questions than answers.

Their weekend started bright and early Friday, Sept. 5 with a 10 a.m. contest against the New Mexico State Aggies. 

The Aggies and Salukis battled in a tight first set, with SIU sprinting out to a 9-5 lead after an impressive spike from senior outside hitter Annabelle Sulish. From that point on, New Mexico State took control, eventually taking set one 25-23.

Freshman setter Addie Kerr was the hero of a second set dominated by the Salukis, having a hand in each of the final three points of the set. The home side shocked the Aggies to the tune of an early 8-1 lead, forcing a timeout. Despite New Mexico State’s best efforts, the Salukis prevailed 25-18.

The Aggies got their swagger back in set No. 3, trailing only once the whole set. The 25-23 decision put the visitors up two sets to one, and only a set away from dispatching the Salukis.

After a Sulish service error late in Set 4, the Aggies seemingly had the Salukis on their heels and on the way out the door with the score at 19-16. The Salukis weren’t yet ready to stop playing, however. Senior middle hitter Larissa Seger had four kills in the span of 5 points to help power a 6-0 run, winning the set 25-21 for the Salukis.

New Mexico State set the tone early in Set 5, scoring 7 of the first 8 points. The play was much more even from that point forward, but the 6-point deficit was too much to overcome in a shortened final set. The Aggies scored a 15-11 Set 5 victory, and held on for a 3-2 match victory.

Larissa Seger was a bright spot in the loss, with 12 kills, only one attack error, four service aces and three blocks.

The Salukis bounced back in a huge way in Friday’s nightcap, dispatching of the Kansas City Roos in straight sets.

SIU put their stamp on the match right away, scoring the game’s first 6 points. Senior utility star Ceci Bulmahn helped that along with two aces in that span. The Roos got as close as 12-10 before the Salukis opened it up again, ending the set with a 25-14 victory.

The Roos were out for revenge in Set 2 and led most of the set. SIU didn’t even tie the set until it was 16-16. From that point on though, Kansas City played from behind. The Salukis’ two sets to none lead was sealed after an attack error from KC’s Ledisi Kpea made the score 25-22.

At multiple points in the third set, it looked as if Kansas City would force a fourth, with the score at 10-9 SIU a little less than halfway through the set. The Salukis then went on a 7-1 run that made the game’s eventual result clear, with the Salukis wrapping up Set 3 25-19.

Sulish was the engine that kept the Salukis running offensively with a game-high 16 kills while adding in two blocks defensively.

Turning the page to Saturday, Sept. 6, the Salukis had an afternoon date with an undefeated Eastern Illinois Panther team that did not drop a single set in two games the day before.

SIU started out hot, taking the first 3 points of the match before the Panthers could even blink. The Salukis were never in danger of dropping the set, cruising to a 25-19 victory.

Eastern Illinois had an even more impressive second set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead early. Their lead got as large as 21-10 before finishing it at 25-15.

The Salukis continued the pendulum swing with a third set straight out of teaching videos. After a back-and-forth beginning of the set, the Salukis emerged with a 14-9 cushion they would ride to the end, eventually winning the set 25-20.

The good times continued for SIU through the beginning of the fourth set, holding off the Panthers to keep a 14-13 lead as the late stages of the set approached, forcing an Eastern Illinois timeout. At that point though, the Panthers powered through anything the Salukis threw at them. A heavy dose of sophomore outside hitter Destiny Walker with a dash of senior outside hitter Tori Mohesky was a huge recipe for success, leading the Panthers to a 25-21 Set 4 victory.

Eastern Illinois continued the pattern through the end of the match, blowing by the Salukis for 6 straight points to start Set 5 before locking down a 15-9 victory. 

Seger, despite the loss, notched a team high 15 kills to go along with four service aces.

The Panthers’ victory over the Salukis locked in a 1-2 record in their home opening weekend. The weekend left plenty of questions, but possibly none bigger than this: Which Saluki team will show up night in, night out? Will it be the team that battled against New Mexico State for five sets? Will it be the team that dominated against a Kansas City Roos program that won a conference championship two years ago? Or will it be the one that started off hot but ended up cold against Eastern Illinois?

The team’s next chance to find out is Friday, Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. in the Golden Grizzly Invite against host Oakland University.

Sports reporter Eli Hoover can be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram at @hoovermakesart 

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