The Salukis ran all over the Racers Tuesday in a match when SIU finished with more than 65 kills.

The team put on a show for the crowd at Davies Gym as Pack the House Night was felt in full force.

SIU took control from the beginning and won the first set, 25- 20. The Racers built momentum as the second set wore on and evened the match with a 25-

22 win.

The Salukis came out of the second set break on a mission. They controlled the entire third set and took it 25-10. SIU could not make a mistake if it tried in the set as it finished with 15 kills and zero errors.

Freshman defensive specialist Katie Baki helped get the rally started in the set as she continually dove on the floor to help counter the high-powered Racer offense.

Head Coach Justin Ingram said his team kept building momentum the longer the match went on.

“I thought as the match continued we started getting more comfortable within our rhythms,” Ingram said.

Senior outside hitter Jessica Whitehead said her team only needed to worry about its problems and not concentrate on Murray State’s.

“Once we fix our things, we’re good,” Whitehead said. “We’re ready to go.”

Whitehead continued her impressive senior season with 25 kills in the win and only five errors. SIU had three players with hitting percentages of over 40 percent.

Senior outside hitter Elly Braaten said her team wasn’t worried in the locker room after dropping the second set.

“We were relaxed, we knew that we could take the next two games easily,” Braaten said. “We just said to take care of the small ball, the tips and the rolls, and come out and play how we play.”

Along with the Pack the House promotion, Saluki Athletics had a dunking booth outside Davies Gym for charity. Fans were also able to get the autograph of their favorite Salukis after the match. The third floor of Neely Hall had the most members in attendance and won 10 free Papa John’s pizzas.

The Salukis start conference play on Saturday as they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to battle Indiana State. It’s the first conference match for both teams. The Sycamores participated in the Wright State Invitational during the weekend where they fell to Murray State in their first match three sets to one, a positive sign for SIU after Tuesday’s win.

Braaten said this win will help them going forward in the season.

“It was nice to beat a team like this this well, and have some good vibes going into conference,” she said.