FT. WAYNE, Ind. - SIUE volleyball dropped its final match in the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational on Saturday afternoon, falling to Kent State, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-25) and closing out their first non-conference tournament with a 1-2 record.

"There were a lot of bright spots this weekend, but also a lot of inconsistencies," said SIUE Head Coach Kendall Paulus following Saturday's match. "The best part is that we saw growth from last weekend and saw what we can build on."

The first set saw the Cougars and Golden Flashes trade blows through the early moments, before SIUE caught the momentum and led by four at the 15th-point media timeout. However, the momentum would swing back to Kent State, who would put together a 9-4 scoring run to put the pressure on the Red & White. Despite the Cougars' best efforts, their comeback attempt proved too late, as Kent State would claim the opening set, 25-21.

The second set would see the Cougars start off strong and maintain the momentum throughout. A 4-3 advantage for Kent State would be the last time the opponents would hold a lead for the remainder of the set. SIUE would hit an impressive .257 as a team, but it would again be the Cougar defense that proved to be the decisive factor. SIUE recorded six team blocks in the set and held the Golden Flashes to a hitting percentage of just .100. The Cougars would also put together a match-high sideout percentage of 75%, while holding Kent State to a sideout percentage of just 60%. SIUE would win the second set, 25-20.

The third and fourth sets each saw SIUE's five-set marathon victory on Friday night catch up of them. The Golden Flashes, who played just once on Friday in a 3-0 loss to Evansville, used the Cougars' exhaustion to pull ahead and claim back-to-back set wins to claim the 3-1 match victory.

Post-Match Notes

• Julia Treichel came just one dig shy of earning the second double-double of her collegiate career, recording 10 kills and nine digs. Treichel's 10 kills led the Cougars during Saturday's contest.
• Treichel was one of just seven student-athletes across all four participating teams to be named to the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational All-Tournament Team; this is her first such honor, and was the lone Cougar named to the squad.
• Alyse Drifka notched her third consecutive double-double of the young season, registering 11 digs and a team-high 32 assists. Drifka also led SIUE in hitting percentage (min. 2 attempts), hitting at a .429 clip
• Sydney Hummert also nearly earned the first double-double of her season with her nine-kill, 11-dig outing.
• True freshman Ainsley Ranstead once again proved she is ready for the college game, recording seven kills and a trio of block assists.
• Edwardsville native Annie Ellis led SIUE with 12 total points (six kills and six total blocks), followed closely by Jessica Vineyard's 11.5 total points (eight kills, three-and-a-half total blocks)
• For the third consecutive match, the Cougars led their opponents in team blocks. SIUE recorded 12 total team blocks, edging out Kent State's 11.

Up Next
The Cougars (1-2) will head to Chicago for a weekend tournament which will feature hosts Loyola Chicago, Big East Conference power Xavier, and former Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky. SIUE will once again play the first match of the tournament, starting the weekend off with a Friday morning tilt with the Xavier Musketeers. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT.

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