EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE will officially begin regular season action on Friday, when the Cougars travel to Carbondale, Illinois for the Saluki Bash. The Cougars will open against Grambling State at 1:00 p.m. before closing out the night against the host Salukis at 6:00 p.m.
THE COUGARS: 2022 marks the Cougars 28th season of women's volleyball, owning an all-time 473-362 record.
LAST SEASON: In 2021, SIUE put together one of the most competitive non-conference schedules in program history, standing toe-to-toe against three squads ranked in the RPI Top 100 and eight ranked in the RPI Top 150. The Cougars finished ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference last season, with an overall record of 6-23 and 3-15 in conference play.
BLOCK EM: SIUE averaged 2.08 blocks/set during the 2021 season, ranking fourth in the OVC. Senior middle blocker, Jessica Vineyard ranked second on the Cougars totaling 89 blocks and averaging 0.91 blocks/set.
NEW FACES: SIUE welcomed five new faces in the offseason. The Cougars brought in Priscilla Jones, Monica LaFleur, and Caroline Waite as transfers, while also adding freshmen Bree Schreimann and Paige Montgomery.
RETURNERS: Despite losing five graduating seniors, SIUE returns 10 players from the 2021 squad, including Savannah Christian (2.20 K/S), Julia Treichel (2.19 K/S), Nicole Kijowski (2.74 DIG/set), and Alyse Drifka (.294 PCT).
AT THE HELM: Head Coach Kendall Paulus is beginning her sixth season in charge of the Cougars. She has a career record of 62-69.
FAMILIAR FOE: Friday marks the first matchup between SIUE and SIU Carbondale since the 2019 Saluki Bash where the Cougars defeated the Salukis in four sets. The Cougars own a 1-1 record in the all-time series.
UP NEXT: SIUE will continue its regular season action on September 3rd and 4th, when the Cougars travel to Valparaiso, Indiana for the Valparaiso Invitational. The Cougars will open on Friday against Valparaiso at 10:00 a.m before closing out the weekend on Saturday in a doubleheader against Northern Illinois at 10:00 a.m and Campbell at 2:00 p.m.
