Box Score
Heather Bonde
|
September 13, 2004
SIUE volleyball coach Todd Gober leads his 8-4 team into Great Lakes Valley Conference play starting this week. "We are ready for conference to start," said Gober. "We have a lot of things to work on, but we have a lot of positives. We will be carrying some momentum heading into our conference season," said Gober.
The Cougars played three games over the weekend at the GLVC-GLIAC-WVIAC Crossover in Wheeling, W.V.
"I am very happy coming back with a 2-1 record," said Gober. "I was really impressed that we were able to step up our game."
The Cougars battled some stiff competition in the crossover. After defeating Mercyhurst in four games on Friday, SIUE was set up for a huge match against Ferris State on Saturday morning.
SIUE jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Bulldogs sent the match to a fifth game where the Cougars prevailed 15-8. "That was a great match," said Gober. "I have a lot of respect for their program."
After the big win over Ferris State, the Cougars fell in their last match to Findlay 3-1. "That was right there for us," said Gober. "If we improve in a few areas I feel that we are as good as the Findlay team."
Junior Heather Bonde (Millstadt) had a great weekend with 57 kills in the three matches raising her hitting percentage by 50 points to .324. Another middle hitter Tina Talsma (Ontario, Canada) was outstanding against Mercyhurst registering 24 kills and a .667 hitting percentage. "Both of our middles are very athletic and they both jump very well," said Gober. "We could have the some of the best middles in the conference."
Gober also felt that many other Cougars played will at the Crossover. "Krystal Majernik (Normal) did great job distributing the ball," said Gober.
SIUE begins GLVC play on Friday night as Wisconsin-Parkside visit the Vadalabene Center at 7. The Cougars will follow that up with a match on Saturday against Lewis at 1 p.m.
-siue cougars-
|
