EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE took on Lindenwood at First Community Arena, splitting the two game series. The Cougars defeated the Lions 3-1 in game one, before falling to them 3-2 in game two. 

THE SERIES: The Cougars are 9-8 in the all-time series against Tennessee State. The last match up was in October of 2023, where the Cougars won 3-2. When playing away, SIUE is 5-5 against the Tigers.  

CAREER BEST: Senior Sydney Hummert recorded her 1,000th career kill September 28, against Western Illinois. Hummert is the first player since Kirsten Torre (2012-15, 1,256 kills) to surpass 1,000 career kills. Hummert is steadily rising in SIUE's career leaders list. Senior Alyse Drifka is 28 assists away from her 2,000th career assist, and will be the first player since the 2019 season to become a career leader in assists. 

OVCit: After the weekend, Graduate Student Nicole Medlin is the first player since 2021 to record a hitting percentage of .600 or higher. Medlin ranks second in the OVC for hitting percentage, hitting at a .350 clip. Freshman Taya Nordmann still leads the OVC in blocks, averaging 1.22 a set. Hummert ranks fifth for kills, averaging 3.00 per set. 

TEAM LEADERS: Hummert leads the teams in kills (153), averaging 3.00 per set, and points (182.5), averaging 3.58 per set. Corinna Jones leads the team in attack by percentage at .364 (17 kills, .26 per set). Drifka leads the team in assists with and average of 4.89 per set (318 assists, .338). Nordmann leads the team in blocks (79), averaging 1.22 per set. Olivia Hogan leads the team with 170 digs this season.

PRESEASON HONORS: Hummert earned preseason OVC honors Aug. 16 following her 2023 season she led the Cougars with 315 kills, and her 2.76 kills per set also led SIUE while ranking 9th in the conference. She added 300 digs and 35 service aces, while recording 66 total blocks. Hummert locked away 793 total digs last season surpassing the 500 career marker. 

AT THE HELM: Head Coach Kendall Paulus enters her 17th season with the Cougars and her eighth as head coach, with a career record of 94-104. Against conference opponents, she owns a 59-59 record. 

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