Racers drop first match to Salukis in straight sets – Volleyball News
The Saluki Invitational Women’s Volleyball Tournament took centre stage in Carbondale, Illinois on Friday, September 9. Teams from Southern Illinois University (Salukis) and Murray State University (Racers) opened the tournament. The host Southern Illinois
team benefitted from the home advantage and finished the game in straight sets. They pulled off success by sending 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, and 25-22) on to the board.
Both teams battled back-and-forth in the opening phase of the game. The energy level of players from both sides was high and they staged a wonderful competition. Racers led the score 4-2 with some quick shots but they were repaid by the Salukis immediately.
The hosts scored five consecutive points and surpassed the opponents 12-7. Laura Thole and Sophmore Jess Whitehead developed a great chemistry between them and raised the score of Salukis. Thole posted quick points via kills and also did a good job at digging.
The Racers fought and put up great resistance. They scored well and cut the deficit of points. Nonetheless, the Southern fans encouraged the home team to secure the first set at 25-20.
Murray State team changed the game strategy in the second set and came up with an improved plan. The first ten serves of the second sets were traded swiftly, while score remained close. Salukis used the 2-0 run to pick up a lead and continued putting more
and more effort into their game. Racers refused to accept the dominance of Salukis and tried different methods to hinder their performance. The setter for Salukis, Rachael Brown, did an amazing job at setting perfect balls for attackers and helped her team
maintain the lead. MSU did not seem to give up until SIU closed off the second set with 22-22 win.
Success in the first two sets was enough to give a big advantage to Salukis. The charged-up Southern Illinois squad entered the third set with great attitude. They pushed the opponents behind the attack line and scored five points in a row. Murray State
team exchanged long rallies and managed to tie the score at 10-all. Senior Teresa Krog and Kayleah Sauer performed amazingly well in third set. Salukis broke the tie but Racers once again tied the score at 19-19. The effort of the Racer team was commendable
but Salukis used the 4-0 run to claim a third set 25-22 and bagged match victory.
The Head Coach of Salukis, Brenda Winkeler, was thankful to the people who came to watch their performance and provided them emotional support. She appreciated the staff efforts for managing things in a great way. Speaking of team performance, she stated:
“I thought for the most part we played pretty consistently. There were some lapses where it wasn’t lights out, but there were no huge problems with the match.” Moreover she appreciated the combined effort of whole team and congratulated the players for the
amazing win.
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