EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - A pair of freshmen led Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in kills Friday but couldn't help the Cougars to a season-opening victory at the Cougar Classic.

Indiana State won Friday's match 25-18, 21-25, 25-15, 25-23.

Freshmen Julia Whitfield and Lexi Cibulka led the Cougars with 16 and 11 kills, respectively. "We had a couple young outsides, and the positives there were they finished No. 1 and 2 on our team in kills," said SIUE Coach Todd Gober.

The Cougars got off to a slow start in set one and the beginning of the second set. After dropping set one, the Cougars were down 7-0 and rallied past the Sycamores with a 22-10 run to end the set. Cibulka provided four kills in the final points of the set.

Gober said the Cougars showed him something that hopefully will be something to build upon for the season.

"It came down to execution. We weren't performing the way we were in practice and suddenly we realized that and forced Indiana State to make some mistakes, which they hadn't done in the first set," said Gober. "The biggest thing is we showed a lot of character. It seemed like we were down the entire match, constantly digging a hole and having to fight back. Out of that hole, I liked our character," he said.

The Cougars, 0-1, had to contend with an onslaught from Indiana State's Morgan Dall, who collected a match-high 22 kills on 61 attacks. The Sycamores picked up 11 kills each from Ana Maria Charun and Stacy Qualizza.

Senior right-side hitter Sydney Winslow joined Whitfield and Cibulka in double figures in kills with 10. The Cougars hit .172 as a team.

Indiana State, 1-0, opened the first set by hitting a staggering .481. The team finished the match with a .284 hitting percentage and nine blocks.

"For this young group, the big thing is to let it go and focus on the match tomorrow," said Gober of his young Cougars.

SIUE has two matches Saturday at the Cougar Classic. The Cougars face The Citadel at 1 p.m. and Ball State at 7 p.m.

-siue cougars-