Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball lost 3-1 to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville on Friday at the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale. The Salukis took set one, but SIUE stormed back to win the next three sets and claim the victory.

Annabelle Sulish (15 kills, 13 digs) and Anna Jaworski (22 assists, 10 digs) had double-doubles, and Eva Krakowski tied her season-high with eight blocks. Reception defense plagued the Salukis (7-4) as SIUE (4-6) racked up eight aces on the day.

The match was competitive from the first serve, with both teams trading blows in set one. With a chance to clinch the set leading 24-23, SIUE made three straight attack errors and SIU got out to an early one-set lead.

A similar story occurred in set two, but this time Southern squandered their own 24-23 lead, and three straight points from the Cougars nodded the match up at one.

With set three tied at 16, SIUE went on two separate 3-0 runs and got the set three victory capped by an SIU attack error.

The Salukis held a 21-18 lead late in set four, but a 7-0 run highlighted by three kills from Kyndia Smith promptly ended the match in a Cougar victory.

Southern Illinois will finish the Saluki Invitational with a bout against Southeast Missouri State beginning at 3 p.m. For more information, check out the Tournament Central page.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X (@SIU_Volleyball), Instagram (@SIU_Volleyball), and Facebook (SalukiVolleyball). Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.