EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.- SIUE volleyball heads to Charleston, Ill. to take on Eastern Illinois. The Cougars are 14-12 against EIU in the all-time series. When playing away, SIUE is 6-7. These teams last met in the 2023 season, where the Cougars won 3-2. Last season the teams split the season series. 

CAREER BEST: Senior Sydney Hummert recorded her 1,000th career kill September 28 against Western Illinois. Hummert is the first player since Kirsten Torre (2015, 1,256 kills) to surpass 1,000 career kills. Senior Alyse Drifka recorded her 2,000th career assists October 12 against TSU. Drifka is the first player since the 2019 season.

TEAM LEADERS: Hummert leads the team in kills (181), averaging 3.02 per set, and points (217.5), averaging 3.63 per set. Nicole Medlin leads the team in attack  percentage at .346. Drifka leads the team in assists with an average of 5.05 per set (374 assists). Taya Nordmann leads the team in blocks (86), averaging 1.16 per set. Olivia Hogan leads the team in digs this season (179), averaging 2.84 a set.

RANKING: As a team, the Cougars are ranked 17th in the nation for total blocks (182). Cougar volleyball leads the OVC in total team blocks and blocks per set. Freshman Taya Nordmann is ranked 25th in the nation and lead the OVC in total blocks this season with 86. Medlin sits at 98th for hitting percentage (.346) and 78th for total blocks (75) 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. 

First serve is set for October 15, as 6:00 p.m.

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