The Southern Illinois volleyball team defeated the Missouri State Bears in five-sets (25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 13-25, 15-5) on Wednesday night to cap off the regular season. The Salukis improved to 18-12 (11-7 MVC) and are locked in as the fourth-seed, which includes a first-round bye, heading into the MVC Tournament next week. Southern Illinois' 18 wins are the most in a regular season since 2016.
SIU got out to a hot start after hitting .400 and .342 in the first two sets to jump out to a 2-0 lead. However, the Bears fought back after a back-and-forth third set to edge out the Salukis and were able to carry that momentum into the fourth set to even the match at 2-2. Despite Missouri State's season on the line, Southern was able to regain control in the fifth-set and put the match away, hitting .429 with 10 kills and an ace on their way to a 15-5 set win.
Nataly Garcia neared her season-high in kills coming up just one shy as she put away 25 kills with 9 digs. The win over Missouri State marks Garcia's seventh Valley match of the season with 20 or more kills. Tatum Tornatta tied her season-high 19 kills for the third time this season as she hit for a team-high .366. Freshman Annabelle Sulish nearly had another double-double with nine kills and 10 digs including several key points in the fifth-set.
Up next for the Salukis is the Missouri Valley Tournament that will take place from November 20- November 23 in Evansville at Meeks Family Arena. Southern Illinois will play the winner of the eighth-seeded Bradley Braves and the fifth-seeded Evansville Purple Aces on Monday, November 21 at 3 p.m.
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