Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball emerged victorious against Missouri State in a five-set match to kick off the Saluki Invitational on Thursday in Carbondale.

The Salukis (7-3) established an early 2-0 lead, but the Bears (5-6) fought back, pushing the match to a decisive fifth set. Southern Illinois maintained control throughout the final set, securing the win and starting their conference play with a 1-0 record.

Key players Kelly Franklin, Anna Jaworski, and Annabelle Sulish each recorded double-doubles. Sulish now has six double-doubles this season. Franklin and Sulish led the team with 17 kills each, while Jaworski contributed 27 assists.

In the first set, Southern Illinois dominated, leading 20-14 before scoring five of the last six points to secure a double-digit victory. Missouri State kept it close in the second set and held a late lead at 23-21. However, after tying at 24, a critical block by Eva Krakowski and Avery Parris set up Franklin for a kill to win 26-24.

Despite a late surge by Southern Illinois in the third set, Missouri State won narrowly at 25-22. The fourth set followed a similar pattern with Missouri State edging out another close win at 25-23.

The momentum shifted quickly in favor of Southern Illinois during the fifth set. Sulish's seventeenth kill concluded what was described as a roller-coaster match.

Southern Illinois will continue participating in the Saluki Invitational against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville on Friday at 3 p.m. Live stats and streaming information are available on the Tournament Central page.

For updates on Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball, follow them on X (@SIU_Volleyball), Instagram (@SIU_Volleyball), and Facebook (SalukiVolleyball). Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App from the App Store or Google Play Store.

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