Box Score

Nov. 23, 2007

By Ryan Shaw
www.siusalukis.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Southern Illinois volleyball team's season came to an end today in Springfield, Mo. with a 3-1 loss to Creighton in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The No. 6 seed Salukis (15-16, 7-12 MVC) battled hard, but the No. 3 seed Bluejays (21-9, 15-4 MVC) came away with the win, 25-30, 30-16, 30-24, 30-22.

"I thought in game one we followed the game plan extremely well and, obviously, won that one," said SIU head coach Brenda Winkeler. "Creighton changed up their game plan and we tried to respond, but they're a very good team. They're a top-40 team in the country. I was proud of how our kids battled and played hard and never gave up.

SIU got off to a great start with a 30-25 game one win. The Salukis combined for a team hitting percentage of .200 in the first game, while Creighton put up a .087. Jennifer Berwanger led SIU in kills in the first game with four off of 10 attacks.

Also contributing heavily to SIU's game one win were Chandra Roberson and Kristie Berwanger who each posted three kills and two block assists.

The Bluejays stormed back in game two, downing the Salukis 30-16. In game two, Creighton hit .362 as a team while the Salukis put up a .095 mark. Kelly Goc led the Bluejays with seven kills off of 12 attacks in game two. Allie Oelke contributed six kills off of 14 attacks in game two for Creighton.

Marina Medic led SIU with three kills in the game off of four attacks. Roberson and Kristie Berwanger once again ranked among SIU's leaders with two kills and one block assist each. Jennifer Berwanger added two kills in the second game.

The Salukis improved their hitting performance in game three, posting a .208 as a team. Despite SIU's improvement, Creighton was too much to overcome as they hit .327 as a team to take a 30-24 win in game three.

Oelke led the Bluejays in game three with six kills off of 17 attacks. Abby Baumann and Lauren Bloemke added four kills each to help Creighton to its game three win.

For SIU in game three, Kristie Berwanger contributed four kills off of 10 attacks and one block assist. Roberson and Jennifer Berwanger each recorded three kills in game three.

The Salukis fought hard in game four, but Creighton won the game 30-22 for the match victory. Oelke once again led the Bluejays with 5 kills on 13 attempts. Baumann, Goc and Sarah Schulze all contributed four kills in the game for Creighton.

Brooklyn Robbins turned in three kills off of nine attacks in the third game. Kelsie Laughlin contributed four kills off of 10 attacks for the Dawgs.

Kristie Berwanger led the Salukis overall with a kills-digs double-double, posting 11 kills and 11 digs. Roberson posted 10 kills for the Salukis and added one solo block and five block assists. Jennifer Berwanger gave the salukis nine kills and 15 digs.

While the loss ends the Salukis' season, Winkeler believes that taking part in the tournament will help her team in the long run.

"This was a big step for our program to make it to the tournament and play a good match in the first round," said Winkeler. "We look forward to returning next year. With almost everyone on the team returning next season, this experience will be invaluable."