No matter how you look at it, going on the road is always tough regardless of who you face, says SIUC volleyball coach Sonya Locke.

At 9-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Salukis hit the road this weekend for two critical Valley matches. The Saluki squad will face Tulsa on Friday and Southwest Missouri State on Sunday.

Tulsa has yet to record a single victory this season, while SMSU has climbed to within one game of SIUC. Despite Tulsa’s winless record, Locke said both games are very critical.

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We are not going to put our match against SMSU over Tulsa, Locke said. Every match carries equal weight and I’m not putting any more emphasis on one match over the other. It’s difficult any way you look at it.

The Salukis have a share of third place in the MVC with Illinois State. Ironically, SIUC had a 9-3 mark at this same time last season.

ISU, also 9-3, goes on the road this weekend as well to face second place Drake tonight and top ranked Northern Iowa on Saturday night.

Although neither match will be an easy one, Locke said the Redbirds have a good shot at winning them both this weekend.

When you are on the road, things are totally different. You just don’t know what is going to happen, she said. ISU can come out with two wins easily. They are a good team.

SIUC can also improve their record to 11-3, providing they win both matches this weekend. Locke said in order to accomplish that, the spikers must provide a well-rounded attack against both teams.

In order for us to improve to 11-3, we will have to be good at everything we do, she said. I think it is going to take an all-around performance in order for us to accomplish that.

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An all-around attack will be crucial when SIUC faces SMSU. The Lady Bears are 8-4 in league action and have won six conference matches in a row to pull within one game of SIUC.

The Salukis have won the last three meetings with the Lady Bears after dropping 10-straight matches. Last year, SIUC beat SMSU in Springfield Mo., for the first time since 1985.

SMSU will be looking to even the score with SIUC after losing in five games to the Salukis earlier in the year. It was the Lady Bears’ last conference loss.

I’m sure they are looking for revenge, Locke said. It’s easy to carry grudges, but we can’t concern ourselves with that right now.

Linda Dollar, SMSU’s volleyball coach, said the matchup with SIUC is no different than any other.

Every match is big no matter what, Dollar said. This one is no bigger than any other. We just want to play well at home and possibly even the series.

After losing three-straight conference matches, SMSU has managed to come on strong lately. Dollar said maturity is the reason behind her teams strong midseason run.

We have a very young team, Dollar said. We’ve got some matches under our belt and that has added to our experience. Once we got a couple of wins, we gained some confidence.

SIUC returns home on Wed. Oct 25, in a non-conference match against Saint Louis University.