After losing to Indiana State University Sept. 20, the Salukis rebounded to sweep the Sycamores 15-9, 15-8, 15-5, Friday. Unfortunately, the same outcome did not occur in Saturday night’s rematch against Illinois State University, with SIUC falling 15-4, 15-11, 15-17, 15-10.

The Salukis, who have come up short against the Redbirds in 13 straight matches, dropped to 9-10 overall and 6-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

SIUC was without the play of MVC block leader Monique Galvin for both matches, who is out with a sprained knee. Galvin, a junior middle blocker, ranks first in the conference with 1.38 blocks per game.

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With the possibility of facing Illinois State in the MVC tournament, SIUC coach Sonya Locke said her players cannot think about the past.

I don’t even think about it because opponents’ records don’t really mean anything to me, she said. Our goal is to win a conference championship, and we need to be a team like Illinois State.

Junior outside hitter Lindsay Fisher said Galvin’s injury left a hole in the Saluki defense. Fisher, who replaced Galvin in the starting lineup, recorded 14 kills, 18 digs and two blocks against the Redbirds.

I think if we had (Galvin) out there, their middle would have been half as effective, she said. ISU is undefeated, but we proved (Saturday night) we could play with them.

In game one, Illinois State showed why it owns a 10-0 record in the MVC this season. SIUC trailed 5-4 early before the Redbirds scored 10 consecutive points to take the game in less than 15 minutes. Illinois State recorded a solid .636 hitting percentage.

The Salukis raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second game, but the Redbirds rallied to score eight of the next 11 points to take control of the match. SIUC came no closer than two points for the duration of the game.

Locke’s team managed to win game three, even after blowing an early 10-4 advantage. The Redbirds came back to tie the score at 15, but a Marlo Moreland kill gave SIUC a one-point lead. The Salukis held game point for six possessions before a Marrisa Kimbrough service ace ended the game.

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Riding the momentum of game three, the Salukis matched the Redbirds point-for-point for the first half of game four. But Illinois State turned out to be too much down the stretch, opening a 13-8 lead after the game was even at seven.

Juniors Moreland and Laura Pier led the Saluki attack. Moreland, an outside hitter, had 18 kills and 14 digs, while Pier added 19 kills from the middle blocker position.

This weekend marked the second consecutive weekend that the Salukis have split conference matches. But Locke was pleased to see her players perform well against Indiana State after Tuesday’s embarrassing loss to Eastern Illinois University.

The Saluki defense limited the Sycamores to a .042 hitting percentage despite Galvin’s absence.

First of all, the team played spirited volleyball without Monique, Locke said. You can’t tuck your tails just because you lose a starter. They just had to dig their heels in.

Pier turned in a career performance in game two against the Sycamores. She accounted for six kills, five digs and three blocks.

Pier credited the play of her teammates for her efforts.

I thought everybody was doing pretty well, and it just kind of rubbed off on me, she said.

The Salukis will be on the road for the next five games, which include conference matches against Wichita State University and Southwest Missouri State University this weekend.

At this stage in the season, Locke is content with her team’s effort but there is room for improvement.

I think we’ve definitely dropped a couple of conference matches we should’ve won, but at this point, we are way ahead of where we were last year, Locke said. Overall, 9-10 is not what I expected to be, but you can always say it could be a lot worse.