The Salukis won their third straight Saluki Invitational and are off to the best start in program history with a record of 10-0.

SIU defeated University of Alabama at Birmingham, Murray State and Valparaiso while placing three players on the all-tournament team during the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale over the weekend.

‘This has been amazing,’ senior middle blocker Chandra Roberson said. ‘It has been the best start we have ever had and gives us a lot of confidence heading into conference play.’

Advertisement

Roberson, who was named to the all-tournament team, said the team learned to play through adversity during its non-conference schedule and is ready for conference competition after playing in several tight matches.

SIU beat the University of Alabama at Birmingham in four sets Friday (26-24, 23-25, 29-27, 25-18). The highlight of the match took place in the third set where SIU fell behind 9-0 and came back to take the set 29-27.

SIU beat Murray State in the day game Saturday (26-24, 22-25, 25-13, 15-25, 15-10). Junior outside hitter Jennifer Berwanger recorded her sixth straight double-double during the match.

‘Jen is someone that can do it all,’ head coach Brenda Winkeler said. ‘She can dig, she can pass, she can get kills.’

Murray State is winless on the season, but traded sets with SIU until the Salukis won the fifth and final set with a .600 hitting percentage and no errors.

In the nightcap, the Salukis defeated Valparaiso in five sets (25-9, 25-19, 18-25, 20-25, 15-8). Junior right side hitter Alicia Johnson picked up her first career double-double in the victory with 12 kills and 15 digs while Berwanger added her seventh straight double-double.

SIU dominated the first two sets, hitting .384 compared to Valparaiso’s .082, but Valparaiso came back and forced the game into a fifth set where SIU won 15-10.

Advertisement*

‘We fought some hard battles, but we were able to pull it out in the end and beat some good teams,’ Winkeler said. ‘The teams we saw here are very comparable to the teams in the top of our conference. You will see that kind of volleyball down the road.’

Johnson won the most valuable player award after hitting .350 while averaging 3.64 kills, 2.21 digs and 0.86 blocks per set. It was Johnson’s home debut with the Salukis, as she transferred to SIU from Northwest Missouri State last season and had to sit out because of NCAA regulations

‘Winning the MVP was a surprise to me,’ Johnson said. ‘I came off sitting out all of last year, I had an injury during the preseason and I was fighting for a spot. So it feels really good. I’m honored and I am thankful to my teammates.’

Johnson said she has her sights set on conference play, which starts 7 p.m. Friday in Carbondale against Evansville.

‘We are able to pull out all of these close wins, it feels great,’ Johnson said. ‘So we are confident going into conference play. I hope we can carry it on.’

‘