Expectations can be dangerous for any athletic team, but for Marrisa Kimbrough, they should have made for a successful season for the Saluki volleyball team.

What began as one of the most highly anticipated seasons in SIUC volleyball history, which included the return of six starters, ended in disappointment Saturday night.

Kimbrough, a sophomore outside hitter from Bloomington, Minn., said the team did not play up to its high hopes at times during the season.

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First of all, we shouldn’t have been in the situation to begin with, Kimbrough said. We started out very strong and needed to keep it going through the season. It seemed like people were tired and it all just piled on top of us.

The Salukis were picked to be fighting for a higher position in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament at the conclusion of the regular season last weekend. Instead, SIUC found itself battling just to earn a berth in the tournament, which is Nov. 20-22 in Normal.

The Salukis lost that battle, dropping road matches against Bradley University and the University of Northern Iowa over the weekend to finish at 13-15 on the year. The loss meant no post-season play for SIUC for the first time since 1994.

When you have high expectations and they are not met, it’s disappointing, SIUC coach Sonya Locke said. We played well enough on Saturday night against Northern Iowa to beat Bradley on Friday. If we could have flip-flopped those performances, we’d be better off.

The Salukis had won the five previous meetings with Bradley. But the Braves came into Friday night’s match playing like they were the ones fighting for a tournament spot.

Bradley limited the Salukis to a .157 hitting percentage in a 15-7, 12-15, 16-14, 15-9 setback. Junior outside hitter Marlo Moreland led SIUC with 12 kills, but recorded a dismal -.039 percentage.

Senior outside hitter Traci Eggers, who played in her final two matches as a Saluki, said the team had several communication problems.

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We just couldn’t pass the ball well, she said. We didn’t click at all, and I don’t even know how we hit that well because our passing was so ugly.

But the loss to Bradley did not eliminate SIUC from tournament contention. Indiana State University lost both of its matches also, and a Saluki win over Northern Iowa would have guaranteed SIUC a spot in the tournament.

The Panthers were victorious in the first two games of the match before hanging on to win 15-11, 16-14, 14-16, 13-15, 15-11. The loss marked the eighth straight time the Salukis have been defeated by Northern Iowa.

At 8-10 in the league, SIUC finished tied with Indiana State for sixth in the MVC. The two teams split the season series, but the Sycamores received the bid into the tournament because of a higher rank in MVC power ratings.

Moreland’s 23 kills against UNI made her the eighth player in SIUC history to record 1,000 career kills (1,019). On the defensive end, junior outside hitter Lindsay Fisher recorded a season-high 24 digs.

The Salukis ended the season by losing seven of the last 10 conference matches. But once again, SIUC will be returning a strong nucleus next season. With Eggers and senior outside hitter Erika Holladay as the only two departures, the Salukis will have their top nine players coming back.

The best thing about this is that we lose only two seniors, Locke said. My job here is to get them prepared for the next season, and the rest is up to them.