Coming off its first Missouri Valley Conference tournament bid in six years, the SIU volleyball team opened up its spring season on fire.
The Salukis traveled to Bloomington, Ind., Saturday where they competed in the Indiana Tournament and won three out of their four matches against Big Ten opponent Indiana, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis and Indianapolis.
SIU's only loss came at the hands of Louisville - who made the first round of the NCAA tournament in November - in the opening game.
Coach Brenda Winkeler said while the team struggled at times, she saw good chemistry from a squad that returns all six starters after posting a 15-16 record and entering the MVC tournament for the first time in their careers.
"We were ready to compete and I told them I was happy with how they competed as a unit," Winkeler said.
Sophomore middle blocker Marina Medic led the Salukis with 24 kills on the day followed by junior right side Kristie Berwanger who added 21 kills, one solo block, and seven block assists.
Medic said the team knew it would have its hands full with strong teams like Indiana and Louisville.
Junior libero Kristy Elswick, who totaled 139 digs during the tournament, said energy levels were high and the team came out strong regardless of the opponent.
"I think this team just likes to compete," Elswick said.
Rounding out the top performers for the Salukis were sophomore middle hitter Chandra Roberson with 18 kills and junior setter Brooklyn Robbins, who tallied 85 assists.
Winkeler said the spring is a good time to work on creating more movement on the floor when they don't have the ball and fixing small errors before they hit the floor in the fall.
Medic said all team members were given workout plans from their strength coach that outlined different activities for them to do each day during the offseason and started 6 a.m. practice in late February.
Medic said it wasn't difficult to get back in the swing of things.
"Once we get started you make it through it and it's just like another practice," Medic said. "The hardest part is probably just getting to the gym (in the morning)."
Megan Kramper can be reached at
536-3311 ext. 256 or
megkramp@siu.edu.
