Aug. 28, 2009

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville volleyball dropped a pair of four-set matches to UMKC and Akron on opening day of the 2009 season.

SIUE turns around Saturday for two more contests at the Indiana State Invitational. The Cougars meet North Dakota at 9 a.m. ET followed by a 7 p.m. ET match with host Indiana State.

SIUE coach Todd Gober emerged from Friday's matches with a positive outlook about his team. `We had some good comebacks today," he said. "I'm still encouraged by our overall athleticism and chemistry."

The Cougars were defeated 25-15, 25-20, 19-25, 28-26 in the morning match against UMKC. Akron topped the Cougars 21-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-22.

Junior right-side hitter Sydney Winslow (Farmington, Mo.) was the team's top offensive weapon with 21 kills for the day and a .372 hitting percentage. Freshman Brianne Graunke (Elmhurst) finished with 17 kills and a .385 hitting percentage.

"They were our two leading players today. Brianne is starting off well and Sydney just had a typical day," said Gober.

The Cougars tried a number of lineups over the eight sets with his young team. The Cougars also are getting used to two freshmen setters in Sammi Minton (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Jamie Mueller (Waukesha, Wis.), who finished the day with 40 and 27 assists respectively.

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