The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

SIU uses weekend off for home cooking

Jené Pulliam might be a bit heavier on her feet tonight against Murray State.

The sophomore hadn't made the trip to her hometown of Rockford since July, but with a couple days off, Pulliam spent last weekend getting reacquainted with her mother's cooking.

"Chicken, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, corn, barbeque roast beef, fruit pizza and pumpkin pie," Pulliam said.

"That was one meal. I told her to cook all of my favorites."

When Pulliam told her mom, Kathy, she was coming home, Kathy wasted no time preparing for her daughter's arrival.

"She invited all my friends over and had a little party for me," Pulliam said. "It was a lot of fun. I'm really glad I got to go home."

With the Salukis in the midst of a battle with Indiana State and Evansville for a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament berth, Pulliam relished the opportunity to detach herself from volleyball.

"Everybody was happy to see me, and I was happy to see them," Pulliam said.

Setting the Show

Sophomore Holly Marita posted her ninth double-double of the season in the Salukis' Oct. 19 win against Evansville.

Marita, one of three Salukis' to record a double-double, torched the Purple Aces with match-highs of 64 assists and 16 digs. Marita's 64 assists marked the third time this season she has had 60 or more assists in a match. Marita had 68 assists against Southwest Missouri State Sept. 17 and in SIU's first meeting with Evansville Sept. 21.

Marita is seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference with 10.93 assists a game.

"You have to credit your passing," Marita said. "You have to credit your hitters. You can't do anything by yourself.

"I have the numbers, but it's actually a team effort."

Salukis Represented in MVC Rankings

Following the Salukis' Oct. 19 match with Evansville in which she hit .483 with 17 kills, junior Marissa Washington's hit percentage increased to .322, seventh best in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Senior Erica Miller is fifth in the MVC with 4.13 digs a game. Miller has had double-figure digs in 18 of 21 matches, including a career-high 24 digs against Southwest Missouri State Sept. 17. Miller has had 20 or more digs in six matches this season.

Wichita State Streak Over

Creighton snapped Wichita State's school record 13-match win streak Saturday.

The 30-25, 27-30, 18-30, 30-17, 15-11 loss was the first of the season for the Shockers in Missouri Valley Conference play. Wichita State still remains atop the conference, but is just one match ahead of Northern Iowa.

Halloween Showdown

Wichita State and Northern Iowa will meet Oct. 30 at the Shockers' Charles Koch Arena in the second battle between the two best teams in the MVC.

Wichita State (15-5, 10-1) swept Northern Iowa (16-6, 9-2) Oct. 1 and snapped the Panthers' 74-match home winning streak.

The Panthers play Southwest Missouri State Friday, and the Shockers host Bradley. UNI defeated SMS 3-1 Oct. 3, and Wichita State defeated Bradley 3-1 Oct. 2.

Creighton's Ratzlaff achieves, surpasses 1,000 kills

Creigton Junior Leah Ratzlaff notched her 1,000th career kill in the first game of Friday's match with Southwest Missouri State. Ratzlaff is just the fourth player in school history to accomplish the feat.

Ratzlaff finished the match with 10 kills, the 42nd consecutive match she has recorded double-figure kills. She added 19 kills in Creighton's upset of first-place Wichita State Saturday.