THE COUGARS: Continue their 2022 campaign on September 3rd and 4th when the Cougars travel to Valparaiso, Indiana for the Popcorn Classic. SIUE will open on Friday against Valpo 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.

LAST TIME OUT: SIUE went 2-0 at the Saluki Bash last Friday, starting with a three-set sweep over Grambling State before closing out opening day with a thrilling five-set victory over host team SIU Carbondale.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Valpo began their 2022 season at the Youngstown Invitational last weekend, beating Delaware State (3-1), Idaho (3-0) and Youngstown State (3-1). The Cougars own a 0-3 record against Valpo in the all-time series against Valparaiso.  

Campbell went 1-2 last weekend, splitting their double header on Friday against Syracuse (1-3) and Morgan State (3-0) before falling to South Dakota on Saturday. SIUE is facing the Fighting Camels for the first time in volleyball.

NIU opened their 2022 campaign hosting the annual Huskie Invitational last weekend. The Huskies went 2-1 last weekend with wins over NJIT (3-0) and UIC (3-0) and a loss to South Dakota State (0-3). The Cougars own a 1-1 record against the Huskies in their history, with SIUE last besting NIU in four sets during the 2019 season.

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).

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.