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Salukis split weekend matches

A decisive kill by Haley Hann and two Bradley errors ended the SIU volleyball team's seven-match losing streak.

In a battle between two teams that had lost a combined 13 consecutive matches, it was the Salukis who came out on top - and made the fewest mistakes.

Tied at one game apiece and up 29-27, the Braves had a critical game three win in the palm of their hands before a serving error breathed new life into the Salukis. SIU answered with three straight points to take two-games-to-one lead.

SIU (5-13, 3-4) fought back from a 19-23 deficit in game four to take a 28-27 lead behind one of Hann's 11 kills. Bradley would score one more point but relinquished the match to the Salukis by committing two attack errors.

Bradley committed 28 unforced errors, while SIU exercised a tad bit better control with 22 errors.

"Unforced errors can be detrimental to our health and they have been in the past," SIU head coach Sonya Locke said. "We just got lucky that they matched our errors."

The win matched the Salukis total output in Missouri Valley Conference play last season and left Bradley (5-12, 0-7) still in search for its first Valley win.

Preseason all-MVC selection Lindsay Stalzer had a career and match-high 30 kills on a whopping 62 attempts. Stalzer also had 14 digs.

"She's a dynamic player. If we had somebody that was so dynamic like that on our team we'd probably set her a whole lot of the balls too," said Locke.

While the Salukis had problems containing Stalzer, senior Carrie Shephard and Marissa Washington were equally troublesome for the Braves.

The two middle blockers combined for 32 of the Salukis 61 kills. Washington hit .542, while Shephard hit .500. Shephard completed the third double-double of her career with 14 digs. She also had a team-high six blocks.

"I know my team needed me," Shephard said. "I needed to do that and I could feel that everyone was counting on the middles."

Sophomore Holly Marita was the only other Saluki to record a double-double, racking up 50 assists and 10 digs. Fellow sophomores Jené Pulliam and Ashley Saverine combined for nine kills and Saverine had a career-high .600 attack percentage.

"I think that's what separates us from them at this point, in that we had a more balanced attack," Locke said.

But that balanced attack had trouble a night earlier against Northern Iowa.

SIU was down 28-27 in game one with the ball in its court, but served out of order resulting in a 29-27 two-point swing leading to a Northern Iowa 30-27 victory.

The Salukis finished game one with a better hitting percentage, more kills, digs and assists than UNI but that error seemed to deflate the Salukis and the six-time MVC tournament champs took advantage.

By the time the match was over the two teams had flip-flopped and it was the Panthers who led in almost every category on their way to their 24th straight win over SIU.

"We started out strong and couldn't finish," Locke said.

To get into the conference tournament in November, SIU needs, at the very least, to win six of its last 11 Valley matches.

"To do that, we have to play way better than we did [against Bradley]," Locke said.