 "Photo: Evan Davis ~ Daily Egyptian.")
The Salukis are determined to make the second half of conference play more successful than the first.
The SIU volleyball team (14-6, 3-6 Missouri Valley Conference) has lost four conference games in a row, but is coming off of a win Tuesday against non-conference opponent Southeast Missouri State University.
Junior right side hitter Alicia Johnson said the win was important for the matches this weekend.
“We were tired of losing, so winning was a big boost,” Johnson said. “We’re going to play the matches this weekend with a lot of confidence and hopefully start a turnaround.”
The Salukis will play Bradley at 7 p.m. today in Davies Gym and Northern Iowa at the same time Saturday.
SIU will look to duplicate its first performance against Bradley.
The Salukis played the Braves on Sep. 26 in Peoria. SIU won the match 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-23).
Junior outside hitter Jennifer Berwanger led the Salukis in the match hitting .458 with 14 kills, six digs and two service aces.
“It would help our confidence out if we could get out there and make a statement against Bradley,” head coach Brenda Winkeler said.
Bradley (9-14 overall, 0-9 MVC) is winless in the conference and is on a four-game losing streak. The program’s last victory came against SIU-Edwardsville 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 16-14) in a non-conference matchup.
On Saturday, SIU plays against Northern Iowa, the team that handed the Salukis their first loss of the season.
SIU started the season 11-0 before the Panthers beat them 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-11, 25-20) on Sept. 25.
In the match, the Salukis were held to a .078 hitting percentage while Northern Iowa hit .270. Since losing this match, SIU has only beaten Indiana State in conference.
Libero Lauren Blumhorst said she thinks SIU will play better in the rematch.
“We learned some things when we played them,” Blumhorst said. “I think when we play them again, we will play better and hopefully get revenge.”
It will not be easy for SIU to win; Northern Iowa (18-2, 9-0) has won 16 straight matches and has only been taken to a fifth game against a conference opponent once when they played Wichita State at home.
Northern Iowa sits alone at the top of the conference with its most recent conference victory coming against Missouri State at home 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 25-20).
The loss was Missouri State’s first conference loss of the season.
“Getting a win against the conference leader would be huge,” Winkeler said. “It would really help set the tone for the rest of the way.”
Derek Robbins can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 261
