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SIU in sixth place tie after weekend split

The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament has been set and all its guests have arrived - with the exception of the occupant for the last seat at the table.

The Salukis took a step back, then toward the final spot in the tournament last weekend after falling to Creighton Friday and sweeping Drake Saturday.

Creighton (15-7, 7-5) defeated SIU 37-35, 17-30, 25-30, 23-30, handing the Salukis their first loss in their four-match homestand.

SIU (8-16, 5-7) relinquished a 13-12 lead in game one and trailed until one of Jené Pulliam's 14 kills gave the Salukis a 33-32 advantage. The Salukis would lose the lead once more, but back-to-back kills by Pulliam and Haley Hann secured a 37-35 victory.

Whether the gritty comeback victory drained SIU or revived Creighton, the Bluejays dominated the rest of the match behind Leah Ratzlaff's 27 kills and Saluki mistakes.

SIU committed just four errors in its game one victory, but finished the match with eight more service receiving errors and attack errors than Creighton.

"We just started making way too many errors," said SIU head coach Sonya Locke. "Creighton is a veteran team. They have veterans in the right places and they just took control."

Senior Carrie Shephard led four Salukis in double-figure kills with 16. Holly Marita recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 54 assists and 11 digs, and Erica Miller posted a career-high 26 digs.

Coming into the weekend, SIU was a match ahead of Indiana State and Evansville but fell into a seventh-place tie with the Purple Aces after Indiana State's upset victory against fourth-place Illinois State.

The seventh place standing would be short lived though, as SIU swept an overmatched Drake Saturday. The Salukis' 30-26, 30-22, 30-24 victory was Locke's 100th in conference play and ended a three-match losing streak to the Bulldogs.

Drake (3-19, 1-12) has now lost nine consecutive matches since defeating SIU 3-2 in the teams' first meeting Oct. 1.

SIU hit .270 while limiting Drake to a .147 attack percentage. The Bulldogs surrendered 16 points off serving, service receiving and ball handling errors.

"They didn't play well, and I'm glad we took advantage of it," Locke said.

Miller led the defense with 12 digs, giving her 927 career digs and moving her into eighth place on the all-time digs list. Hann and Jamie Hinsenkamp posted nine kills apiece, but Pulliam led the Salukis with a match-high 14 kills and .458 attack percentage.

"We just wanted revenge because they beat us in our first meeting in a heartbreaker," Pulliam said. "We just went out and competed the whole time, which is something that we haven't done all season."

The Salukis will be on the road this weekend at Bradley and Northern Iowa.

Bradley (7-17, 1-12) has lost four straight matches and lost to SIU Oct. 9.

UNI was swept by Southwest Missouri State and Wichita State last weekend, but will be hosting the Salukis in West Gym where the Panthers have won 80 of their last 81 matches.

"I know we're going into their place but anything's possible," Locke said. "I really believe our kids believe that now.

"This thing is crazy and we need to take advantage of our opportunities."