Volleyball heads to drake, creighton

The SIU volleyball team seemed to be heading toward an eye opening upset.

Fresh off a 625-mile bus journey to Pennsylvania, the Salukis immediately pounced on last season’s Big East champion Pittsburgh, taking game one 30-24.

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But whatever momentum SIU possessed was striped away as the Panthers rebounded to win the next three games.

SIU (4-9, 2-1) not only lost the match, but also the confidence that led to its game one victory, as the Salukis recorded the worst hitting percentage in school history the next day against Dayton, and Long Island cemented the Salukis’ winless weekend.

“I think we fought really hard against Pittsburgh and then to lose that match, it was a downer,” said senior Erica Miller. “That could have been why we didn’t come out to play the other teams. It just felt like we didn’t fight at all.”

But Miller said the energy and confidence that was missing after the Pittsburgh loss has been restored by the possibility of notching two more Missouri Valley Conference wins this weekend.

The Salukis, tied with Northern Iowa for fourth in the MVC, continue their seven-match road trip tonight and tomorrow against Drake and Creighton.

Drake (2-10, 0-4) lost its sixth straight match Tuesday at home to South Dakota and currently resides in the bottom of the Valley.

Drake ranks last in the conference in attack percentage, kills and assists. The Bulldog offense is led by two upperclassmen. Junior Lindsey Johnson is sixth in the MVC with 3.49 kills a game, and senior Kelly Johnson ranks third in aces with 21.

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The Salukis lead the all-time series 23-12, but dropped both contests to Drake last season. Junior Marisa Washington led the team in kills in those two matches with a .425 hitting percentage.

Creighton (9-4, 1-3) defeated Missouri-Kansas City Tuesday – a team SIU lost to a few weeks ago – rallying to overcome a 1-2 deficit. The Bluejays are seventh in the Valley and host Evansville tonight. Creighton swept both meetings with the Salukis last season and lead the all-time series 11-9.

The Bluejays lead the conference in kills per game and aces. Junior Leah Ratzlaff’s 3.96 kills per game are second best in the conference.

Freshmen Mallory Lahm and Carolyn Decker are atop the conference in aces with 27 and 21. Seniors Janeen Piller and Ashley Williams orchestrate the defense. Piller averages 5.32 digs a game, and the 6-foot-3 Williams leads the Valley with 13 solo blocks.

Creighton’s offense could give the Salukis problems, but SIU head coach Sonya Locke said she doesn’t have any special defensive tactics to counteract the Bluejay attack.

“We’re still to the point where we just have to get good at what we do versus trying to adjust to what everybody else does,” Locke said.

The Salukis can tie last season’s conference win total with just a single victory this weekend.

“The conference matches are in line with where our goal is and where our focus is of going to the conference tournament and winning,” Miller said. “These are two of the steps to get there.”