SIU volleyball (14-7, 5-3) lost to Illinois State (15-6, 5-3) in five sets (23-25, 21-25, 31-29, 25-18, 12-15) Saturday.

The match had 45 ties and 16 lead changes. 

The Salukis were unable to finish out the first two sets despite holding a lead in the back half of both sets. 

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“They were more efficient when it came down to it,” coach Justin Ingram said. “It’s disappointing we didn’t come out of the weekend 2-0.”

In the fifth set the Salukis committed five attack errors, two blocking errors and a ball handling error. The Redbirds committed three total errors in the fifth set.

The Salukis most efficient hitter for the night was sophomore outside hitter Nellie Fredrikkson. She tallied nine kills on 21 attempts with one error. 

“We could have won this [match],” Fredrikkson said. “[assistant coach Todd Nelson] told me keep hitting hard, so as long as that was working then I’ll keep doing it.” 

Sophomore outside hitter Abby Barrow led SIU in total attack attempts with 53.

“My arm is tired,” Barrow said. “But we’re proud of how we fought back.”

Barrow finished the night with 14 kills.

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With the win Saturday, the Redbirds are now tied for fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with SIU. Both SIU and ISU received first place votes in the MVC preseason rankings. 

The SIU volleyball team returns home to take on Drake at 7 p.m. Friday at Davies Gym. 

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EvanJones_DE