SIUE volleyball will look to get back in the win column this weekend, as the Cougars travel to the Bluegrass State for a series at Eastern Kentucky.. The matches are scheduled to be played tomorrow at 3 p.m. and Monday at 1 p.m. (both times Central). Monday's match is scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+ and stats for both matches will be available on EKU's athletics website.
SCOUTING THE COLONELS
The Colonels come into the weekend at 2-6, with their wins coming against Belmont and UT Martin. EKU most recently hosted Belmont, taking down the Bruins in a five-set thriller on Monday evening. EKU is led by freshman Molly Michalak, who leads the Colonels with 104 kills and 105 digs on the season. Michalak was also named OVC Newcomer of the Week for the second time this year on Wednesday.
LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK
The Cougars enter this weekend following two losses at defending OVC champions Southeast Missouri. SIUE's only blemishes have come against last season's regular season champion (Jacksonville State) and tournament champion (SEMO), but the Red and White will look to bounce back and get back in the win column this weekend in Richmond, Kentucky.
TAKING OVER
The Cougars "took over" the NCAA Volleyball Instagram account on February 18, putting the SIUE volleyball program in front of the nearly 350,000 Instagram users who follow @NCAAVolleyball. The Cougars had the unique opportunity to showcase a typical day as student-athletes at SIUE and engage with volleyball fans from across the country.
FRESH FACES
SIUE volleyball welcomes four new student-athletes to the program in Spring 2021:
Head Coach
Kendall Paulus on how these newcomers will impact the game this season:
"I think the newcomers will help impact the game because they don't know what to expect. So they don't have this perfect vision of how a perfect day goes. So I think they're open-minded and they're ready to take on whatever comes their way."
GOIN' BACK TO BACK
The
Ohio Valley Conference and its 12 member institutions decided to play a conference-only schedule this season, which will see teams play back-to-back matches on
consecutive days against the same opponent.
Coach Paulus' thoughts on the new scheduling format:
"I'm really excited to play back-to-back on consecutive days against the same opponent because I think we can handle adjustments really well. I think we'll be able to make
changes from Sunday to Monday well because of how many veterans we have on this squad."
VETERAN PRESENCE
In any season, veteran players play a critical role in keeping their team calm and collected, regardless of what the opponent throws their way. That role is made even more essential in a season such as this, where preparing for unexpected is crucial to the success of any team or individual.
Fortunately, the Cougars have an abundance of returning players, having graduated just four from last season.
Coach Paulus on how she expects the returning players to impact the game:
"I expect the returners to help us stay confident and being able to expect the unexpected. If they can keep us calm when we come into some chaotic situations, I think the rest of the team will respond really well."
