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Salukis head into all-important final weekend

Sonya Locke's message to her team Wednesday was simple.

"I told them they could look around and say goodbye to the gym, and that they won't be back until next year or that they'd see it on Monday," Locke said.

This is the situation SIU has put itself in after dropping last Friday's match with Indiana State and, with it, a crucial tiebreaker.

Two wins and an Indiana State loss or one win and two Indiana State losses is what it will take for the Salukis to clinch the sixth and final spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

But matches at Wichita State and Southwest Missouri State - two of the top four teams in the Valley - lie between SIU and a tournament berth.

Southwest Missouri State lost two consecutive conference matches after falling short in last Friday's five-game match with Wichita State, which locked up its first-ever MVC regular season title with the win. The Bears are now tied for third place with Illinois State after the loss.

SIU (9-19, 6-10) lost to Wichita State in its first meeting this season, and beat Southwest Missouri State.

Jené Pulliam led SIU with a career-high 21 kills, and the Salukis accumulated a season-high 102 digs in their five-game victory over the Bears Sept. 17.

"We had a ridiculous number of digs and we just didn't let balls hit the floor," said Erica Miller, who put up a career-high 24 digs in that match.

"And I think that's really what it's going to take to beat these teams."

But Southwest Missouri State has won the last five matches against SIU at the Hammons Student Center.

SIU has had an even worse time at Wichita State, having lost every match at the Charles Koch Arena since 1996. The Shockers are 9-2 at home this season, and haven't lost at home since Sept. 10.

The Salukis can draw confidence from one aspect of their first meeting with Wichita State - game one.

The Salukis ran out to a 4-0 advantage and never lost control, hitting .389 while holding the Shockers to a .071 attack percentage and just 17 points.

Wichita State, though, rebounded and reeled off the backdoor sweep for a 3-1 victory. While SIU will be scratching and clawing to shock the world, Indiana State will face the fifth-best along with the worst team in the MVC.

Indiana State hosts Creighton tonight, and Drake Saturday.

Creighton, which secured a spot in the postseason tournament last weekend, swept Indiana State in its first meeting. Drake has managed just one conference win this season - a 3-2 victory against SIU Oct. 1 - and has lost 14 straight MVC contests, including a loss to the Sycamores.

The dark horse for an MVC tourney berth is Evansville, which is also tied with SIU and Indiana State for sixth place.

Evansville defeated Indiana State for the second time this season last weekend, and holds the tiebreaker over the Sycamores. Evansville doesn't hold the same advantage over SIU, having dropped its season series with the Salukis.

Like the Salukis, Evansville has to travel to Southwest Missouri State and Wichita State, both of which swept the Purple Aces in their first meetings.

"I hope we come home having taken care of what it is we can control," Locke said. "Then we just have to wait and see what happens with Indiana State."