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The Salukis say they need to win six of its final nine Missouri Valley Conference matches to ensure a spot in the conference tournament. but none is bigger than the match tonight.
SIU is in a three-way tie with Indiana State and Evansville for sixth-place, and the Salukis will get a shot at one of its sixth-place roommates as it hosts the Purple Aces.
Evansville (10-11, 3-6) has won two of its last three matches, but SIU will have history on its side Tuesday night.
SIU (5-15, 3-6) has won six of the last seven meetings with Evansville and has not lost a home match to the Purple Aces since 2000. SIU head coach Sonya Locke is 20-4 against Evansville, her best record against any conference opponent.
The team that comes out on top Tuesday night will have sole possession of sixth-place in the Missouri Valley Conference because Indiana State doesn't play again until Friday.
Both teams have made just one appearance in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in the last four years. Creighton defeated Evansville in the quarterfinals of the 2000 tournament and SIU was swept by Northern Iowa in the 2002 championship match.
The first meeting between the two teams this season went five games before SIU pulled out a 3-2 victory.
SIU was ahead two games to none but Evansville fought its way back into the match, capitalizing on Saluki ball-handling errors and the play of Megan Spurlock and Lacy Haller.
The duo combined for 37 of the Purple Aces' 74 kills, led by Spurlock's match-high 19.
SIU trailed 14-12 in game five before scoring on a Jaime Hinsenkamp kill and a combined block by Jené Pulliam and Johannah Yutzy.
Evansville would go ahead 15-14 on a kill but committed an attack error on the very next play, once again pulling the game to a deadlock.
Yutzy served the final two points of the game, a block by Marissa Washington and Holly Marita, and a kill by Pulliam.
When asked what made the difference a day later, sophomore Haley Hann said one word: "Yutzy."
"I think it was just a dead point in the game, and we just needed the energy," Yutzy said. "I came out with energy, which brought the whole team up, and was aggressive at the net."
Yutzy assisted in ending the assault Spurlock was executing against the Salukis and served what would be the clinching points in the Salukis lone road win this season.
"I don't think [Evansville] expected me to come off the bench and bring up the energy as much as I did that game," Yutzy said.
Also invaluable to the win were four Salukis - Pulliam, Marita, Washington and Carrie Shephard - recording double-doubles. Marita tied a career-high with 68 assists and Erica Miller had a team-high 21 digs.
The rivalry between the two teams has not been dependent upon the amount of talent each squad possessed.
"It hasn't mattered," said SIU head coach Sonya Locke. "Every match has been a battle.
"Nobody's going to give in without a fight and it will be the same way tomorrow night."
Saluki Sports 
