Saluki volleyball improved to 3-0 on the year after defeating Duquesne 3-0 in three sets and host school IUPUI on Saturday to win the Invitational Championship.

This is the first time SIU volleyball has started the year 3-0 since 2009.

Junior outside hitter Andrea Estrada was named the MVP of the invitational while teammates senior middle hitter McKenzie Dorris and junior middle hitter Alex Rosignol were listed as members of the all-tournament team.

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Estrada had 31 kills in 84 total attacks, 24 digs and four blocked assists throughout the tournament. She also had just six total service errors and zero blocking errors in the tournament.

Dorris had 16 total kills throughout the whole tournament and a .351 hitting percentage and 13 block assists.

Rosignol had 19 kills to go with 16 block assists and six service aces throughout the tournament.

SIU’s win against Duquesne (25-17, 25-23, 25-20)

Even though the first victory came in straight sets, it didn’t come easy. SIU was trailing Duquesne late in the second set 21-18 when they had a 7-2 run to take the set.

Much like the second, SIU was behind in the third set when they trailed 10-4 before reeling off eight straight points to take the lead and ultimately win the game.  

The Salukis were paced by Rosignol’s 14 points, seven aces and seven kills. Her seven aces are tied for the eighth-most in a single match in program history.

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Senior setter/hitter Meg Viggars had 18 assists and tied with Estrada to lead the team with eight kills along with three aces.

There were 10 total aces for the Salukis to go along with 35 total assists and 15 total blocks while Duquesne had just four total aces with 30 assists and nine blocks. Freshman setter Dani Suiter had almost all of Duquesne’s assists with 24.  

With their win today, the Salukis brought their all-time record against Duquesne to 1-1, avenging a 3-0 loss to the Dukes on Aug. 31, 2013.

SIU’s victory over against IUPUI (25-21, 23-25, 26-24, 25-22)

The final game was as close statistically as it was on the scoreboard.

SIU held close edges in the assist (55-53) and kill (57-54) totals.

Estrada led the Salukis to victory with a team-high 15 kills and Viggars had two team highs with 28 assists and three aces. Senior setter Hannah Kaminsky also had a solid game with 24 assists and 11 digs.

SIU survived a 6-1 run from the Jaguars after going up 22-15 to eventually win 25-21 in the first set.

In the second set, SIU was quickly down 10-5 and the Salukis couldn’t recover despite getting within two points to drop their first set of the season.

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The Salukis wouldn’t get rattled off the second set as they won a roller-coaster third set, seeing 12 ties and seven lead changes.

The Dawgs had a 11-9 lead early in the third erased by a 8-2 IUPUI run to make the score 17-13. The Salukis then had a 7-2 run of their own, making the score 20-19.

The score was tied at 24-24 before SIU took a 26-24 victory via back-to-back kills by junior hitter Abby Barrow.

Barrow finished 13 kills to go with 6 block assists.

SIU never trailed in the final set after the score was knotted at 3-3. The Salukis went on a 5-0 run to make the score 8-3, holding on to win 25-22.

The SIU volleyball team will return to action 7 p.m. Friday at home against Central Florida, kicking off the Saluki Invitational.   

Staff writer Jesse Robertson can be reached at 618-536-3333.

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