The Salukis fell in their first match of Family Weekend, but kept their composure and evened their record in conference play.

After dropping a heart-breaking five-set match against the Bradley Braves Friday, the Salukis did not hang their heads, but came away with a win against conference newcomer Loyola Saturday afternoon.

SIU took the first set Friday 28- 26 and continued its lead in the second set winning 25-10. The Braves decided they did not want to head home with a three set loss and won the third set 25-21.

Bradley had a productive fourth set and only one error in the 25- 18 win. The Braves were able to keep the pressure on and came away with the fifth set win 16-14.

Three Salukis had at least 15 kills in the loss. Senior outside hitter Jessica Whitehead racked up 17 kills while senior outside hitter Elly Braaten and sophomore middle blocker Taylor Pippen each finished with 15.

Coach Justin Ingram said coming back from a tough loss is no easy task.

“One of the toughest things in sports is to recover from something that’s emotionally challenging,” he said.

The Salukis were able to bounce back Saturday in a big way at Davies Gym against Loyola.

SIU took the first two sets 25- 17 and 25-19. A key moment in the first set was a long rally that the Ramblers won, but it did not change the Saluki game plan.

Ingram said a key part of his team’s game was staying calm throughout the match.

“I thought they played steady, I don’t think we were too frantic,” Ingram said.

The Salukis were looking to get the sweep in the third set, but the Ramblers had other plans.

SIU had a 21-20 lead in the third set, but Loyola scored four straight points and won 25-21.

Pippen said her team could have put in more effort after the long break.

“I think we didn’t play as hard as we could that third game, so the fourth game we talked about it and we had to come out stronger than we did in that third game,” Pippen said.

The fourth set was all about the serve for the Salukis. Freshman defensive specialist Katie Baki had seven key serves to extend the lead to 19-11. Freshman setter Hannah Kaminsky also had two aces as they took the final game 25-16.

Ingram said it is still a learning process for the younger players and seeing what serve works in different situations.

“I think all our freshmen go through these growth spurts and try to figure out what a good serve is,” he said.

Whitehead continued her dominance this season as she finished with 14 kills in the win and Braaten had 14 as well. Freshman setter Meg Viggars was a stat sheet stuffer as she had eight kills, four assists and 20 digs in the win.

Whitehead said they were not going to finish the game Saturday like they did Friday.

“We’re not going to repeat what we did yesterday; just do it and come together and work as a team,” Whitehead said.

The Salukis have a few days off until they travel to Kansas on Friday to take on Wichita State and then to Missouri State on Saturday to take on the Bears.

Tyler Dixon can be reached at 

[email protected] 

or 536-3311 ext. 269.