Even though the SIUC volleyball team defeated its two weekend opponents earlier this season, the Salukis face a new challenge as they will be without two of their top players for the road rematches.

SIUC travels to Wichita, Kan., to face Wichita State University Friday and to Southwest Missouri State University Saturday in Springfield, Mo.

Junior middle blocker Monique Galvin and senior outside hitter Traci Eggers will not be in the Saluki lineup for the second consecutive match. While Galvin is nursing a sprained left knee suffered against Indiana State University last week, Eggers has been sidelined with a stomach ailment.

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Galvin, who leads the Missouri Valley Conference in blocks with 1.36 per game, had an MRI Wednesday to see if there were torn ligaments involved. She will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

Galvin said team depth will play an important role in the absence of her and Eggers.

We won’t be shorthanded because we have 17 people on the team, she said. Our team has a lot of depth, and that should overcome the injuries and enable us to win the games we need to win.

Earlier in the season, the Salukis defeated both Wichita State and Southwest Missouri State Sept. 26 and 27 respectively. But SIUC coach Sonya Locke knows her team cannot go into weekend matches overconfident.

At 9-10 overall and 6-5 in the MVC, every match is important for the Salukis. The Shockers own a record of 9-14, 5-5, while the Bears, losers of four in a row, have fallen to 12-11, 3-7.

I don’t have to tell them anything, to keep them being overconfident, Locke said. They know what to expect of the team, and it’s going to be tougher because we’re on the road.

Against SMSU, the Salukis will face the No. 1 and No. 2 kill leaders in the conference. The Bears’ combo of Michelle Witzke (5.56 per game) and Joleen Meservy (4.54) account for 10 kills per game. Setters Audra Akin and Jessica Brester been instrumental in the success of Witzke and Meservy by handing out an average of 11 assists per game apiece.

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Without Galvin’s presence in the middle, Locke said her players are going to have play as a team to battle Witzke and Meservy.

We have to defend against them, she said. We’re just going to have to play hard and do our best on stopping them.