EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -SIUE and EIU last met October 15. EIU defeated the Cougars 3-1 at Groniger Arena. As a team the Cougars hit at a .079 percentage, had 47 kills, 11 blocks, 46 aces and 60 digs, compared to EIU's .219 hitting percentage, 59 kills, 12 blocks, 55 assists and 60 digs

THE BASICS: The Cougars split a two game series with Morehead State. Both games went five sets. SIUE has played 10 five-set matches this season. Overall they are 3-7. When playing at home the Cougars are 2-2, when away they are 1-5.


DOUBLE TROUBLE: This season there have been 23 total double-doubles. Alyse Drifka leads with nine. Sydney Hummert has eight, Ainsley Ranstad has three, Cornina Jones has two, and Sophie Robinson had her first against Morehead State Oct. 26. 

SHE'S A FRESHMAN: Three freshman saw the court in game two against Morehead State, bringing the energy and changing the game. Robinson led with 17 kills (a single-game high) hit at a .333 clip, and 12 digs. Claire Jones stepped in as Libero having four assists, four service aces (single-game high) and 13 digs. Elise Paul had nine kills at a .192 clip and had five block assists and one solo block leading the team with six (single-game high).

TEAM LEADERS: Hummert leads the team in kills (203), averaging 2.90 per set, and points (243), averaging 3.47 per set. Nicole Medlin leads the team in attack  percentage at .325. Drifka leads the team in assists with an average of 5.06 per set (451 assists). Olivia Hogan leads the team in digs this season (179), averaging 2.84 a set.

RANKING: As a team the Cougars are ranked 59th nationally for blocks per set (2.44) and 19th in team total block (215), they also lead the OVC in both categories. Freshman Taya Normann ranks 62nd nationally in total blocks (94), Nicole Medlin follows in total blocks at 83rd (90). Ranstead ranks 72nd in services aces (32) 

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

AT THE HELM: Head Coach Kendall Paulus is in her 14th season with the Cougars and her eighth as head coach, with a career record of 94-114. Against conference opponents, she owns a 61-64  record. 

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

Up next, the Cougars take on EIU October 29. The first serve is set for 6:00 p.m.


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