SIU volleyball kept itself in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament race with a weekend split resulting from a record performance by Johannah Yutzy.

The Salukis’ (9-14, 5-8 Missouri Valley) two-game road trip concluded Saturday at Redbird Arena where they lost in three games to second-place Illinois State (15-8, 11-2). The defeat marked the 30th straight loss Illinois State has handed to SIU in the regular season.

The Redbirds stepped up their offense from the first match-up between the two teams in late September. Three ISU players hit double figures in kills, led by Savannah Knowles and her match-high 15.

The Redbirds hit well throughout the game, averaging a percentage of .340 compared to SIU’s .154 percentage, and they also recorded 14 more digs than the Salukis. Unforced errors also hurt SIU, with 10 of its 20 errors coming from receiving serves.

“We didn’t play real well,” said SIU head coach Brenda Winkeler, who attributed the Salukis’ errors to a simple ebb and flow of good play. “I wish I knew (why), but sometimes it happens,”

Despite the loss SIU is now tied in sixth place in the MVC with Creighton at 5-8. The Bluejays lost their weekend matches to Missouri State and Wichita State, but they hold the tiebreaker over SIU because of their win over the Salukis two weekends ago.

On a positive note for the Salukis, freshman Kristie Berwanger was a force for SIU. The outside hitter helped fill in for junior Jene Pulliam in both of the weekend games, and she led the team with 12 kills versus Illinois State. Pulliam sat out again because of problems with her back, and Winkeler said she has to wait and see about Pulliam’s future availability.

“Kristie Berwanger played excellent,” Winkeler said. “This is a brand new position for her, and she’s a left hand player playing on the left side which is difficult. She’s been working very hard, and I’m really pleased with her performance.”

Berwanger was one of several Salukis to excel in the match Friday versus Indiana State (0-24, 0-13). Berwanger and junior Haley Hann each had nine kills, senior Marissa Washington and junior Katy DeWulf had eight each, and Yutzy owned the Sycamores with her 22 kills. Yutzy’s mark is the Salukis’ best this season and the junior’s career-best.

SIU also seemed to make great strides with its blocking. Indiana State appeared helpless as Washington led the team with eight total blocks and tied a career-high with four solo blocks. Yutzy followed with six blocks, while Hann and DeWulf each pitched in three block assists.

In the four-game match against Indiana State, the Sycamores took the second game 31-29. Both the second and third games went into extra points, but SIU put away Indiana State by a score of 30-19 in the fourth game.

“They got some confidence and played well,” Winkeler said. “After they got confidence, they started digging the ball well, but we pulled out the win. Jo Yutzy had a very good night, and we finally picked it up in the fourth game and started playing better.”

Reporter Kyle Means can be reached at [email protected]