The SIUC volleyball team’s inability to cope with the loss of one its starters resulted in one of the poorest performances of the season for the Salukis Tuesday night.

Junior middle blocker Monique Galvin went down with a knee injury during the first game of SIUC’s match against Eastern Illinois University at Davies Gymnasium.

Galvin missed the entire match, and the Panthers improved their record to 12-10 overall by defeating the Salukis in four games, 15-9, 15-4, 11-15, 15-1. Galvin’s condition was scheduled to be re-evaluated Wednesday.

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SIUC coach Sonya Locke said Galvin’s injury was no excuse for the poor showing.

I’m not saying that (Galvin) was not a big loss, but we seemed out of sync all around, Locke said. Obviously, we missed her blocking, but if we were doing our job in practice, it wouldn’t have been a panic situation.

Without Galvin, the Missouri Valley Conference’s block leader with 1.38 per game, the Salukis were outblocked by the Panthers 10-5.

After winning four straight, the Salukis have lost their last two matches, dropping their record to 8-9 overall and 5-3 in the MVC. Sitting in a tie for fourth place in the conference, SIUC’s hopes of winning the school’s first MVC title are starting to fade.

The Panthers were led by a balanced offensive attack, which included three players recording double-digit kills. Senior outside hitter Lindsey Celba’s 12 kills paced EIU.

But the Salukis’ problems went beyond the defensive side of the net. To go along with 31 hitting errors, SIUC tallied a dismal .103 hitting percentage, compared to EIU’s .331 average.

In game one of the match, SIUC led 8-6 and looked to be in control. As the Saluki offense began to struggle, the Panthers scored seven of the next eight points to take a 13-9 advantage.

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EIU took that momentum into game two as the Panthers jumped to a 7-1 lead before a Laura Pier kill ended the run. But SIUC committed a service error on the next possession, and the Panthers took advantage of the Salukis’ non-existing offense to take 2-0 lead in the match.

Junior outside hitter Marlo Moreland said there was no explanation for the team’s play. She led the Salukis with 16 kills and 11 digs.

I can’t explain what that was out there, we were just out there and had no momentum, she said. I don’t even know who that team was.

SIUC rebounded to take game three, with the help of Moreland’s two service aces, but that would be the last highlight of the night for Locke’s team.

EIU finished off the Salukis in impressive fashion by scoring the first 11 points en route to a 15-1 score. SIUC mustered only four kills and recorded a -.125 hitting percentage for the game.

Locke said it was one of the worst performance she has seen in her coaching career.

I was numb, she said. I’m just glad there isn’t a zero in the point column.

With weekend home matches against Indiana State University and conference leader Illinois State University, Locke said it will be up to the players if they make the final push or not.

We’ve talked about (the championship), but this is something our players are to have to decide on their own, she said. They know how important the upcoming matches are, and I expect them to come out and play hard.