SIUE volleyball captures 20th win of season over Eastern Illinois at home

EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE volleyball captured its 20^th win of the season Wednesday with a 25-22, 27-25, 25-14 victory over Eastern Illinois at the Vadalabene Center.

The Cougars improved to 20-5 overall and 10-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference by defeating Eastern Illinois for the fourth straight time in the series. EIU dropped to 12-13 overall and 6-7 in the OVC.

"We came ready to play today," said SIUE senior libero Katie Shashack, who finished with a match-high 22 digs. "Nothing was going to phase us. We were a little off with the weekday match, but we knew our priorities."

Jackie Scott recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs. Taylor Joens and Ashley Witt chipped in nine kills each.

SIUE gave the home crowd something to get excited about in set two. The Cougars rallied from behind 20-15 to take the set 27-25. Shashack collected two service aces during the late run and served the Cougars to a set point.

"We definitely feed off the energy," said Shashack. "You can definitely tell when it's there and when it's not. It directly correlates with our court play."

Acting Head Coach Kendall Paulus watched as seniors Shashack, Scott, Joens, Witt, Emily Harrison and Carley Ramich played in their final match at the Vadalabene Center. The seniors did not disappoint.

The Cougars rolled in the third set after taking the first two, hitting .344 in the final set. SIUE hit .193 for the match.

EIU was led by 10 kills from Taylor Smith. The Panthers hit .062 as a team for the match.

SIUE now heads to the road for the final three regular season matches. First up is Tennessee State with a 12 p.m. match Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee.

"We've been doing well on the road so I hope we can keep that up," said Paulus.