Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois Women's Volleyball team concluded its regular season with a 3-1 defeat against Missouri State on Wednesday in Springfield. The Salukis ended their Missouri Valley Conference play with a record of 3-15 and will not advance to the 2024 MVC Volleyball Championship.

The match began with Southern Illinois falling behind 1-0, but they managed to level the score by securing a win in the second set. However, Missouri State, which holds a record of 12-18 overall and 6-12 in the MVC, took control in the third set and ultimately won the match after four sets.

Key performances for Southern Illinois included Annabelle Sulish, who led with 11 kills, and Ema Stermenska, who contributed 19 assists. Defensively, Cecilia Bulmahn achieved 30 digs while Eva Krakowski made six blocks.

In the first set, Missouri State gained an early lead of 20-12. Although Southern Illinois improved towards the end of the set, they were unable to recover fully and lost it with a score of 25-20.

Southern Illinois led throughout the second set. A block from Kelly Franklin and Maggie Wallenberger's final point helped them tie the match at one set each.

Missouri State started strong in the third set with a quick lead of 6-1 and maintained their advantage throughout to take the set decisively at 25-10.

In the fourth set, despite trailing by seven points at one stage (21-14), Southern Illinois rallied by scoring four consecutive points—two aces from Sulish among them—but could not prevent Missouri State from clinching both the set (25-20) and match victory.

Fans can stay updated on Saluki Volleyball through various social media platforms including X (@SIU_Volleyball), Instagram (@SIU_Volleyball), Facebook (SalukiVolleyball), or via their mobile app available on App Store or Google Play Store.